Global Call to Action to Actively Engage Communities Worldwide in Addressing the Mental Health & Psychosocial Impacts of the Climate Crisis
- Laura Braden Quigley
- Sep 11
- 7 min read
Contact:
ITRC Coordinator Bob Doppelt
The International Transformational Resilience Coalition (ITRC) today released a comprehensive Global Call to Action that implores community, private sector, and government leaders worldwide to form community-led initiatives that provide Mutual Support For All to prevent and heal the mental health, psychosocial, and physical issues generated by the climate-ecosystem-biodiversity (C-E-B) crisis.
Surface temperatures have already risen by 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, and in a few short years are projected to reach 2 °C (3.6 °F) in many parts of the world. The resulting extreme weather disasters and crippling impacts to the systems people rely on for food, water, shelter, income, health, safety, and other basic needs are generating individual and collective mental health, psychosocial, and physical health problems that are far greater in type, magnitude, and effect than contemporary society has ever experienced.
The growing harm constitutes a global public health emergency.
In response, the Global Call to Action declares that if urban neighborhoods, mid- and small-size communities, and rural areas worldwide form resilience networks that actively engage residents in providing Mutual Support For All, the social, psychological, emotional, behavioral, and physical health issues generated by the C-E-B crisis can be prevented, and when symptoms appear they can be healed. People can find join with others to find powerful new sources of meaning, purpose, and healthy hope in life, and thrive.
"The C-E-B crisis has put humanity in a new era where Mutual Support For All must now become a top priority worldwide," said ITRC Coordinator Bob Doppelt. "Building resilience for the physical impacts of the crisis is important, but even more important now is to prepare everyone for the relentless impacts speeding their way, and strengthen their capacity to remain psychologically and emotionally well and resilient, and find new meaning, purpose, and healthy hope, as the C-E-B crisis worsens. This requires forming local resilience networks everywhere that engage their residents in providing Mutual Support For All."
“People worldwide are experiencing deadly heat waves, floods, and wildfires, with other climate disasters now certain," said Antonis Kousoulis, Director of Partnerships and Secretariat Lead, Global Mental Health Action Network. "Such events impact livelihoods and risk placing communities in permanent crisis mode, with long-term and far-reaching wellbeing and mental health consequences. We support the Global Call to Action for Mutual Support For All because it puts communities in the driver’s seat to prevent and heal the impacts."
"As people with lived experience of mental health challenges, we know that healing happens in community," said Mrs. Sandra Ferreira, Global Network Manager: Global Mental Health Peer Network. "To face the climate and biodiversity crisis, it is imperative that the world listen to those most impacted, honour our experiences, and act with us, not for us, to build futures where both people and planet can thrive.”
"Africa is experiencing increasing extreme heat waves, floods, droughts, and other climate-related hazards that are generating a hidden epidemic of mental health and psychosocial issues," said Dr. Kenneth Yongabi Anchang, Distinguished Professor of Public Health, Infectiology, and Phytobiotechnology, Imo State University, Nigeria, and Regional Community Convenor for Connecting Climate Minds Sub-Saharan Africa. "We know that addressing these issues requires effective community engagement and support---a key factor that applies to communities all over the world. We strongly endorse the Global Call to Action for Mutual Support For All because it calls on communities worldwide to organize this type of support."
"It touches my heart to see how the Mutual Support for All Global Call to Action puts equity and justice as central to the approach," said Benny Prawira with the Global Mental Health Peer Network in Indonesia. "It recognizes that the most fragile among us need our greatest attention because we're all interconnected in this struggle. True healing from the C-E-B crisis cannot be achieved by individuals alone; we must all heal together or not at all."
"In Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where I live, heavy rains and severe floods, as well as growing food insecurity, are resulting from the climate-ecosystem-biodiversity crisis," said Jeremie Kasongo, Founder and CEO of the youth-led organization Global Enviro-Action in Kinshasa. "Engaging young people in providing mutual aid to others, and working with community members to build environmentally sustainable environments, are vital to protect people from harm. We support the Global Call to Action for Mutual Support for All because it describes what is needed to engage communities in addressing the social, psychological, and emotional impacts of the C-E-B crisis."
"As a pharmacist and public health advocate, I believe resilience begins with care and connection," said Ibrahim Umar, Director of Environment, Frontieres for Peace Foundation Nigeria. "By supporting one another and becoming trauma-informed, we can protect both mental well-being and our shared environment. The Global Call to Action to Provide Mutual Support For All is a vital step toward healing people and the planet together."
"The nationwide mental health epidemic is a public health crisis, and the increasing incidence and intensity of extreme weather events, along with a multitude of other rising stresses, will continue to exacerbate the problem," said Georges C. Benjamin, MD, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association. "A public health approach has long been called for to support communities and address widespread psychological and emotional issues arising from the climate crisis, which is why we strongly support the Global Call To Action for Mutual Support For All.”
“As the Department of Health and major medical institutions face unprecedented challenges, the responsibility to safeguard public health increasingly falls to local communities," said Dr. Jacob Lee, Psychiatrist and Chair of the American Psychiatric Association's Committee on Climate Change and Mental Health. "Especially as our climate becomes increasingly unstable, mutual aid has become a vital, community-driven strategy for protecting and promoting both physical and mental health.”
“The mental health impacts of THE accelerating stresses and disasters generated by the climate crisis constitute a public health crisis," said Katie Huffling, Executive Director, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. “Unfortunately, our current health system is not prepared to adequately care for those burdened by rising adversities. Nurses understand the importance of the proactive and holistic approach that is the foundation of the Global Call to Action for Mutual Support for All. Communities need to get organized to address these issues, which is why the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments strongly supports the Global Call to Action."
“Our organization works globally to help community members learn and share resilience skills that prevent and heal mental health challenges,” said Elaine Miller-Karas, Co-Founder and Executive Director Emerita of the Trauma Resource Institute. “We have supported many communities facing the traumatic stress of extreme weather disasters, and we know from firsthand experience that local residents are the key to helping people stay healthy and resilient. As global temperatures continue to rise, fostering mutual support for all will be essential worldwide.”
"We need to give as much attention to preventing and healing the mental health and psychological impacts of the climate crisis as we do to constructing more resilient physical infrastructure," said Ruben Cantu, a Director at Prevention Institute. "It is vital to center community voice, strengths, and assets in strategies to address these issues, and we know from ample experience how to do this. We strongly support the Global Call to Action for Mutual Support For All because it describes what is needed to engage communities in addressing the social, psychological, and emotional dimensions of the climate crisis and creating thriving and flourishing neighborhoods."
"Extreme weather may shake our foundations, but mutual care for each other and the world around us rebuilds our strength," said Becky Turner, Director of Community Engagement, with the Community Resilience Initiative, Walla Walla WA. "The Global Call to Action for Mutual Support for All reminds us that healing is collective, and resilience is forged together. The Community Resilience Initiative is proud to support this important work."
“Our community is increasingly affected by the threat of major hurricanes, flooding, and recovery following major storm events, and we know communities worldwide are experiencing similar challenges,” said Robin Saenger, Founding Director of Peace4Tarpon in Tarpon Springs, Florida. "When major disasters strike, the physical impacts can be swift and severe, but one of the most important effects is the immediate and long-term mental health consequences after the traumatic weather experiences. The Global Call to Action for Mutual Support for All helps communities to be part of the recovery process to protect the health and resilience of their residents, which is why we strongly support it.”
"In Idyllwild, California, the risk of wildfires, floods, and other climate-related disasters is frequently in the backdrop of our everyday life. As survivors of these increasingly frequent tragedies, the levels of anxiety, PTSD, and other mental health challenges have increased dramatically in our community," said Julie Anne Steigner, Executive Director and Somatic Psychotherapist with A Human Sanctuary. "We also know that community is the key to addressing these issues. The Global Call to Action for Mutual Support for All describes the need and methods for building connections, providing mutual aid, and engaging residents in other actions that can prevent and heal social, psychological, and emotional issues."
"Research is showing layered adverse impacts of the C-E-B crisis on human, animal, plant, and soil life, water systems, and overall biodiversity. A return to traditional Indigenous knowledge and practices must be at the heart of how we move ahead,” said Dr. Noshene Ranjbar, Co-Founder and Executive Director of EARTH, Empowering All Relatives to Heal. "We fully support the Global Call to Action for Mutual Support For All because organizing initiatives in communities worldwide to foster individual and collective mental wellness and resilience is essential to address today's challenges and create a better future.”
The International Transformational Resilience Coalition (ITRC) is a member of the UN High Level Climate Champion Race to Resilience campaign. It is a network of mental health, human services, physical health, youth, disaster response, community resilience, and other organizations working to assist communities worldwide to form Transformational Resilience Coordinating Networks (TRCNs) that engage residents in building population-level mental wellness and transformational resilience for the impacts of the climate-ecosystem-biodiversity (C-E-B) crisis.
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