Finding results through resiliency

At first glance, it might not seem that the topics below—family and support services in Chicago, real estate investment in Atlanta, an economic justice action plan in St. Louis and a small business community navigator program in Illinois — are very much related to one another.

Each of these programs and initiatives, however, is united behind one simple (though incredibly challenging) goal — to build resilience within the community. But what is resilience, exactly? How do we measure it and how do we know it when we see it?

When considering such community-focused efforts, it’s often easy to see the immediate, positive impact.

• Providing families with safe, affordable housing and access to education? Inspirational and highly visible impact.
• Creating economic mobility for our most vulnerable populations? Inspirational and highly visible impact.
• Ensuring minority-owned small businesses have the resources they need to thrive and grow? Inspirational and highly visible impact.

But what these programs actually accomplish, what they instill and encourage within their communities, is a sense of resilience that will last long after their current goals are met.

Resilience is the capacity to withstand and recover from difficulties. Resilience is toughness. In this insight and webinar recording, we have four real-world examples of what it looks like when resiliency takes center stage in community-driven initiatives. This recent deep-dive panel discussion with experienced community leaders from around the country provides examples of the work they’re doing and the impact it’s having. During Baker Tilly’s most recent webinar, we explored the following projects:

City of Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS):
Ensured $31.5M in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding was equitably distributed—utilizing real-time data and targeted outreach—through the Chicago Resilient Communities Pilot

TriStar Real Estate Investment
Through the Star-C not-for-profit, empowers families with social capital and access to stable, equitable housing by reimagining the intersection of housing and the social determinants of health