Abstract
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Climate change threatens not only physical well-being but also the mental health of individuals and communities. This poster aims to provide examples and useful tools to create climate resilience in order to reduce harmful climate change-related mental health impacts. After reviewing the effects of climate change on health (including the detrimental consequences on children and adolescent’s health), the authors highlight the importance of social connection and resilience as mental health resources. The poster then describes how community-based resilience can be cultivated through social identity (i.e., perceiving oneself as belonging to social groups), collective efficacy (i.e., people’s shared beliefs about their group’s capability to accomplish collective tasks), and positive deviance (i.e., a behavior-change approach that amplifies the successful actions of existing community members). In addition, this poster discusses the potential for local, intentional community building to serve as an effective strategy to improve resilience. Finally, the specific examples of Cool Block and the Transition Town movement (e.g., Eco Vista) model how communities can effectively support climate change adaptation, mitigation, and resilience strategies.
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