Town of Athol Athol, MA

Athol Helping Athol Community Plan for Social Resilience

BSC Group assisted the Town of Athol in simultaneous hazard mitigation and social resilience initiatives, resulting in an action-oriented climate adaptation plan which framed vulnerabilities and solutions local to the Town. The project was made possible by BSC’s assistance in the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) grant application process.

In order to reflect the specific needs of the Town, a core team of municipal stakeholders and local social service providers met on multiple occasions to discuss and identify Town risks, hazards, and opportunities and also hosted a community workshop to engage local members. The Equitable Adaptation Working Group was established by the Town and BSC to set initiative guidelines and principles, identify key community leaders, and engage with the MVP process.

Collaborative governance, food and housing, transportation, and economic activity were decided to ultimately be the four themes relative to socially just adaptation planning. The social resilience plan was released as an attachment to the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness/Hazard Mitigation Plan findings report.