Bob Doppelt, the coordinator of the International Transformational Resilience Coalition (ITRC) will discuss why community-based initiatives that use a public health approach to build population-level mental wellness and transformational resilience are important approaches to combat widespread harmful mental health and psychosocial problems generated by the climate emergency. In September 2023 alone, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Florida experienced devastation to their communities from hurricanes. Extreme weather events - floods, hurricanes, and disasters like wildfires are linked to a broad range of adverse mental health outcomes. Many types of persistent severe stresses are also rising due to the climate emergency. Bob Doppelt will highlight the work of the ITRC educating and training community members and working legislatively to create U.S. system-wide responses to promote community wide mental health and transformational resilience. The ITRC supports the Community Mental Wellness and Resiliency Act that will be introduced to Congress by Rep. Paul Tonko and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) on Tuesday October 18. He will discuss the important elements of the Act.