Communities That Care for Families: The LINC Model for Enhancing Individual, Family, and Community Resilience

The resilience of families and communities is inextricably linked. Their healthy functioning relies on a balance of stressors and resources. Both can be jeopardized by major challenges such as socioeconomic change or natural and man-made disasters. Such events can cause increased incidences of physical and mental problems such as addiction, posttraumatic stress syndrome, and heart disease. Trauma breeds marginalization, abuse of power, and prejudice. How these stressors are handled is profoundly influenced by the degree of connectedness-attachment-to family and culture of origin. Connectedness can be enhanced by mobilizing support systems, facilitating access to resources, strengthening family, community and cultural ties, and fostering resilience. The LINC Model increases connectedness at the individual, family, and community levels. This article includes methods for designing interventions, studies and clinical vignettes that illustrate the application of the LINC Model, and examples of communities that have overcome major stress.