Community Resilience

Community resilience refers to the ability of communities to support one another by engaging and participating with community organisations. In Devon it is estimated there are 31,255 formal volunteers, based on records help by Devon Voluntary Action (DeVA). These estimates do not include informal volunteering, including babysitting and checking and helping neighbours. This contribution not only helps the organisation but also helps the individual. Volunteering can support successful transition into employment through developing skills, confidence, self-esteem, motivation to work, office skills and IT capability (Devon Voluntary Action (DeVA) Third Sector Overview of Devon, May 2014). These volunteers also have an economic impact on society. If each volunteer provides just 2 hours a week, this leads to a £39 million annual contribution in Devon. In the 2011 Devon Community Needs Survey (www.devon.gov.uk/hearmetoo201203.pdf) a significant proportion of people indicated that they did not know what to do in the event of a major emergency (30% of males and 48% of females).