Building a Connected Resilience Hub Network

In 2025, Vibrant Hawaiʻi continued to strengthen a network of 20 Resilience Hub partners spanning every district of Hawaiʻi Island. These community-led hubs advance local preparedness through Community Emergency Action Plans (CEAPs) rooted in No ʻAneʻi—“We Belong Here”—and guided by place, stewardship, and shared responsibility.

Each CEAP translates island-wide emergency systems into clear, locally actionable plans shaped by the realities of each community. In North Kohala, for example, planning reflects limited road access, multilingual households, communication “dead zones,” and a high proportion of kūpuna and keiki. The plan assumes that outside assistance may be delayed for up to 14 days, prioritizing neighbor-to-neighbor support, redundancy in communications, and defined local leadership roles.

This work was highlighted at the 2025 Hawaiʻi State Association of Counties Conference, where hub leaders shared how community-driven planning improves coordination and readiness across systems. As Chauncey Hatico of the Waipiʻo Resilience Hub reflected, “When community voices are honored from the start, it builds trust and encourages greater participation. Place-based knowledge also reminds us of what has worked before—systems of mutual aid, communication, and food sharing—that can guide modern emergency response.”

Across the network, CEAPs establish activation levels, decision-making authority, and practical operating procedures for hazards such as wildfire, hurricanes, flooding, tsunamis, and extended power outages. Hubs plan for both ongoing readiness—training volunteers, maintaining equipment, and running drills—and rapid activation, when they function as local coordination points for information, safety, and basic needs

A key focus of the Resilience Hub Network is ensuring access to information during disruptions. Plans prioritize multiple communication pathways—phone trees, local radio, social media, in-person postings, and two-way radios—to reach residents even when power or internet service is unavailable. In Kohala, this includes sharing emergency information in multiple languages and through trusted, familiar channels

Through ongoing gatherings, trainings, and planning sessions, hubs continue to build local capacity in First Aid/CPR/AED, chainsaw safety, psychological first aid, communications, and volunteer coordination. These efforts strengthen alignment between residents, nonprofit partners, and county agencies, reinforcing preparedness as a shared, sustained practice.

Together, the Resilience Hub Network demonstrates how locally led hubs can serve as reliable anchors for coordination, enabling communities to act collectively and care for one another before, during, and after emergencies.