4. Harnessing the power of kindness in a crisis Following the significant events of 2017, we are more convinced than ever that effective emergency response is truly human-centred, focussing on the individuals and communities at the heart of an emergency. As the UK’s leading emergency response Recommendations: charity, responding to crises is a core part - The British Red Cross in partnership with Aviva of who we are and what we do. We work feels that more support should be given to to prevent crises from happening; intervene communities in regard to what to do and how early to prevent further unnecessary suffering; to help in a crisis. respond to emergencies; as well as providing - Recruiting 10,000 community reserve support to help people and communities volunteers across the UK will create a vital recover and be more prepared for the future. network of people who can be called upon to We must ensure people in crisis have timely help communities respond to emergencies. and compassionate access to the support - The voluntary sector and statutory services they need in that moment, whether this be should work together to coordinate the practical, emotional or financial. deployment of volunteers using innovative We need simple processes to mobilise initiatives such as our community reserve expressions of human kindness that so volunteers, to support people to help in often follow a crisis, so that individuals the most effective way possible know how they can support in a major local emergency. Whether it is distributing sandbags, or sorting emergency provisions, we all have something to give. Kindness in the community A separate piece of research by the British Red Cross measured levels of kindness in communities across the UK, which could be harnessed in an emergency. Three quarters of UK adults (74%) said that people in their communities are kind to each other and two thirds (67%) said that people in their community look out for each other. The findings also support the desire for localised assistance, as 92% of people said that they appreciate acts of kindness from neighbours or people in their community. This research also demonstrated the role that the British Red Cross could play in mobilising this kindness. More than four in five UK adults (83%) said they would trust British Red Cross to encourage people to use simple acts of kindness to help each other. Source: Reference 3. 12