Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

Vulnerable groups of people are those that are disproportionately exposed to a risk. This can change dynamically and it is not a simple process of dividing populations into two groups of 'vulnerable' and 'not vulnerable'. Amid the pandemic, vulnerable groups have emerged from a diversity of communities. They are not only older people, those with ill health or disabilities, or homeless persons, but also people from a range of socioeconomic groups who might 'struggle to cope financially, mentally or physically' with crises precipitated by the pandemic. Consider:

• If the definitions and categories we use to identify vulnerable people, and consider their needs, adequately represents their lived experiences - whether their vulnerability existed prior to COVID-19, has been exacerbated by it, or has been newly created by it?
• Identify the people behind the 'vulnerable' label - who are they, where are they, and why are they vulnerable? - to increase our understanding of the person and the conditions or environment (root causes) that may be making them vulnerable to certain risks
• If there are different levels/spectrums of vulnerability, do we need to organise vulnerability with respect to different forms of risk (e.g. immediate risk to life, risk to mental health, social/financial security, geographic location)?
• Assessing those who may have been defined as vulnerable prior to COVID-19 and the conditions associated with this vulnerability, those who have become newly vulnerable as a direct result of COVID-19, and what factors lead to these people/groups becoming vulnerable
• The risk of under-supporting those who face severe risk if we rely only on our previous (to COVID-19) assumptions or understanding of vulnerability
• Whether re-defining vulnerability may support more effective recovery and renewal strategies e.g. classifying vulnerable groups according to risk levels/spectrums, creating vulnerability indexes and identifying the root cause of each
• Recovery strategies should aim to provide transactional aid to alleviate the negative effects of vulnerability exacerbated or caused by the pandemic
• Renewal initiatives should address the root cause of vulnerabilities through transformational initiatives that aim to prevent people from becoming vulnerable