SOMAH Drives Climate Resiliency in Environmental Justice Communities
The need for bold action on energy justice was made devastatingly clear through the recent Texas energy crisis, which exposed tens of millions of people to the chill of a historic winter storm. This climate disaster was made even more dangerous by failures in the state’s isolated energy network and insufficient weatherization that left vulnerable families across the state without heat, clean water, or power for days after centralized power plants went offline.
What happened in Texas is all too familiar to us in California, as worsening climate disasters disproportionately impact the most marginalized communities as a result of historic divestment in community resources and resilience. Just last summer, we also saw failures in old, fossil fuel dependent energy systems, causing rolling blackouts through dangerous heat and wildfire air pollution. We need new solutions to put us on the pathway towards building energy resilient communities with decentralized, local energy production. That starts with investing in renewables, like rooftop solar, for populations who have often not been able to benefit from solar.
From the wildfires in California to the winter storms in Texas, we’ve seen community based organizations directly serving the needs of those communities by organizing relief funds, distributing masks, offering multilingual outreach, and more. CBOs have deep roots in the communities that we serve, which is why our voice in shaping policy and implementation is vital to ensuring that programs - like the Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program - continue to serve the needs of environmental justice communities, and in particular renters in disadvantaged communities, who bear disproportionate pollution burdens. The SOMAH program has an annual budget of up to $100 million for ten years to bring the economic and environmental benefits of solar to California’s low-income renters, and provide an entry point for careers in clean energy.
SOMAH serves as an implementation blueprint for all policies and programs that aim to address disparities in under-resourced communities to ensure that even in the face of disasters, there is not only immediate support for our communities but also long-term community-lead solutions for resilience. SOMAH is the first of its kind to resource and develop strong relationships with CBOs as critical partners in the implementation of a program that is aimed to directly serve environmental justice communities.
EHC’s work on the implementation of this program, alongside the California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA), Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN), Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), and Self Help Enterprises (SHE) has helped low-income renters access solar, putting our communities on the path to developing clean energy resilience in the face of a changing climate. To date, the SOMAH program has 386 active applications with an overall capacity of 68 MW AC (production capacity in megawatts). These applications account for 32,049 affordable housing units with an average 90% allocation of solar energy to tenant units.
We’re proud of the first couple of years of SOMAH implementation, but we know there’s still so much work to do to build the resilience our communities need. Especially now, as we mark a full year of the pandemic’s devastation and utility bill debt mounts to new highs, the need for energy bill relief and locally generated, abundant, sustainable energy is urgent.
Climate disasters like the deep freeze southerners experienced this winter and the heatwaves we endured locally are predicted to increase in frequency and severity in coming years. EHC will continue to drive investments in climate resilient clean energy through SOMAH and other advocacy efforts, and we’re looking for EJ champions from the community to get involved. If you are a renter and you want the benefits of renewable energy sourced at your building, please contact SOMAH coordinator Monica de la Cruz at Esta dirección de correo electrónico está siendo protegida contra los robots de spam. Necesita tener JavaScript habilitado para poder verlo..
Did you know that many residents in San Diego County are voting again on April 6? There will be a Special Election for Assembly District 79. We just went through a very important Presidential election, and a year full of talk about voting by mail and the importance of having your voice heard at the ballot box. We saw the importance of access to early voting and how just a few votes can cause huge changes at the federal, state, and local levels.
We must keep building our culture of voting as we head towards another important election for San Diegans.
Why are we having the Special Election on April 6?
On January 29, 2021, Shirley Weber became the first African American to serve as Secretary of State of California. Governor Newsom appointed her to fill the vacancy left by former California Secretary of State, Alex Padilla. Secretary Weber had been the assembly member representing District 79 since 2012. The vacancy she left in District 79 prompted the special primary election on April 6, 2021. A special general election will follow on June 8, 2021.
How do I learn more about the candidates?
EHC, along with our allies at Engage San Diego,hosted a candidate’s forum on Facebook live. Four of the candidates participated. Click below to watch a recording of the forum and hear from these candidates about COVID recovery, climate justice, and other social justice matters.
Fast forward to minute 38:00 to learn what programs or methods the candidates would like to see California use as we continue a path towards climate justice and combatting climate change.
Do I live in the District?
Bonita, La Mesa, or Lemon Grove are entirely in the 79th district. If you live there, then you do live in the District and should vote. The District also includes some areas of Chula Vista, National City, and the City of San Diego so you may want to click on the link below to find out whether you will be voting.
Actualizado el 24 de marzo de 2021, a las 12:13 PM
¡Vote el 6 de Abril!
¿Sabía que muchos residentes del Condado de San Diego van a votar de nuevo el 6 de abril? Habrá una elección especial para el Distrito 79 de la Asamblea. Acabamos de pasar una elección presidencial muy importante y un año en el que hubo mucho que hablar acerca del voto por correo y la importancia de hacer escuchar su voz en las urnas. Nos dimos cuenta de la importancia de votar temprano y los grandes cambios que unos cuantos votos pueden lograr a nivel federal, estatal y local.
Nosotros debemos seguir fortaleciendo nuestra cultura del voto conforme se aproxima otra importante elección para los Sandieguinos.
¿Por qué tendremos la Elección Especial el 6 de abril?
El 29 de enero de 2021, la Dra. Shirley Weber se convirtió en la primera afroamericana en ocupar el cargo de Secretaria de Estado de California. El gobernador Newsom la nombro para tomó la posición vacante por el anterior Secretario de Estado de California, Alex Padilla. Secretaria Weber fue asambleísta en representación del distrito 79 desde el 2012. Esta vacante motivó esta elección primaria especial del 6 de abril, 2021 que será seguida por una elección especial general el 8 de junio, 2021.
¿Cómo aprendo más acerca de los candidatos(as)?
EHC junto con nuestros aliados en Engage San Diego, organizó un foro de candidatos en Facebook en vivo. Participaron cuatro de los candidatos. Haga clic a continuación para ver una grabación del foro y escuchar a estos candidatos discutir sobre la recuperación de COVID, la justicia climática y otros asuntos de justicia social.
Avance hasta el minuto 38:00 para saber qué programas o métodos les gustaría que California usara a los candidatos mientras continuamos el camino hacia la justicia climática y la lucha contra el cambio climático.
¿Vivo en el distrito?
Si Usted vive en Bonita, La Mesa o en Lemon Grove, entonces usted vive en el distrito y debe votar. El distrito también incluye algunas áreas de Chula Vista, National City y de la ciudad de San Diego por lo que le recomendamos que consulte este mapa para verificar si va a votar.
The Intersection of Race and Environmental Justice
February is Black History Month, a nationwide observance to honor and celebrate the many contributions Black people have made to our nation and the world. In honor of this month, Environmental Health Coalition is celebrating black leaders in the environmental justice movement and our communities. To truly understand and appreciate these leaders, we must first acknowledge the tragic history of slavery, repression, and racism black people have endured in our country and still live with today.
The fight for environmental justice is the fight against environmental racism. It was the landmark report Toxic Waste and Race in the United States, published by the United Church of Christ in 1987, that documented the injustices endured by people of color, and especially African Americans. The report found that race is the most significant factor, more important than income, when locating toxic waste sites.
To this day, black communities continue to bear a disproportionate amount of pollution and its devastating health impacts. According to the American Lung Association, “Recent studies have looked at the mortality in the Medicaid population and found that those who live in predominately Black or African American communities suffered greater risk of premature death from particle pollution than those who live in communities that are predominately white.” As these studies make very clear, environmental justice fights for racial justice and the fight is not over.
Black leaders birthed the environmental justice movement and continue to be at the frontlines. We are honored to shine a light on just a few of these passionate and effective leaders who inspire us all.
Vernice Miller-Travis
Environmental justice has been Vernice’s life work for more than thirty years. She is one of the nation’s most respected thought leaders on environmental justice and the interplay of civil rights and environmental policy. She was a contributing author to the landmark report “Toxic Waste and Race in the United States.” In 1991, she was a delegate to the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit. At the Summit, she served on the small drafting committee that wrote the Principles of Environmental Justice. She is currently the Executive Vice President of the Metropolitan Group, a full-service strategic and creative agency dedicated to advancing social justice.
EHC had the opportunity to ask Vernice about the nexus between environmental justice and racial justice. She was kind enough to provide us with the below thoughtful response:
We understood from the earliest days of organizing and advocacy in our local communities that the environmental and public health threats we faced were rooted in systemic racism.
We started out fighting environmental racism. But, that framing made regulators at the local, county, state, and federal levels, as well as industry representatives very uncomfortable when we suggested that systemic racism was enmeshed in the land use, zoning, housing, and industrial agriculture and development patterns of decision-making. These decisions were grounded in historic practices of racial and ethnic segregation.
Long before the publication of Toxic Waste and Race, Race and the Incidence of Environmental Hazards, or Dumping in Dixie, every person of color living in the United States knew unequivocally that wherever we lived was profoundly different from where Whites lived, even if we lived in the same city, county, or town. Our schools and hospitals were different, our supermarkets and pharmacies were different, the housing stock, and recreational spaces were different. Transportation systems were different. When I say different, I mean profoundly unequal.But more importantly, the quality of the air we breathed and the water we drank was more often than not full of contaminants. This made us sicker and have shorter life expectancies.
The fight for Environmental Justice is now and has always been a fight for racial justice and equal treatment before the law.
Eric Wilson
Eric Wilson is Environmental Health Coalition’s Human Resources and Administration Director. Eric has more than 20 years of administrative and operational experience in for-profit and non-profit arenas. His heart is with social and environmental justice work. Through his leadership, Eric creates a collaborative and supportive working environment in which EHC staffers can develop into EJ champions and help residents realize their innate power to create healthy, pollution-free neighborhoods.
Eric shared with us, “I am passionate about environmental and social justice because of an incident that happened to me when I was about 14. My brother-in-law was wrongly arrested and beaten very badly for driving in the wrong neighborhood. He was hospitalized for weeks. At this time, I found out what it meant to be black in the United States as my father had to explain the double standard to me. It angered me so much that I never forgot the experience and have since had a desire to fight for what is right. I hold true to Dr. King's quote:
‘Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.’”
Roberta Alexander, PhD
A former black panther, Roberta has dedicated her life to social justice, education, and cultural enrichment. As a member of the Board of Directors since 2012, Roberta has helped guide Environmental Health Coalition through more than a decade of environmental justice challenges and success. She served as a faculty member in the San Diego Community College District for over 35 years. During her tenure, she was the Department Chair for English as a Second Language in Continuing Education at Centre City Adult School and the Department Chair of English at San Diego City College.
Roberta shared with us, “In the 1960s, I lived in the flatlands of North Richmond next to the toxics-spewing Chevron refinery where it is no accident that Black and Brown folks are still the overwhelming majority of residents. Every single day, our children continue to struggle to breathe through the toxic fumes of neighborhoods like that one. Indeed, here in San Diego, nationally and internationally, air pollution, hazardous waste sites, lead poisoning, climate change, and water contamination disproportionately affect poor people of color.
George Floyd, when he was murdered by a knee on his neck, cried out, ‘I can't breathe.’ Our children use the same three words when they're struggling through an asthma attack.”
Mustafa Santiago Ali
Mustafa is a thought-leader and activist committed to fighting for environmental justice and economic equity. He worked at the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) for 24 years. At the EPA, he served as the Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice and Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization. During his tenure, he worked across federal agencies to strengthen environmental justice policies, programs, and initiatives. He also led the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (EJIWG), which was comprised of 17 federal agencies and White House offices focused on implementing holistic strategies to address the issues facing vulnerable communities.In 2017, he resigned from the EPA to join the Hip Hop Caucus and lead their Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization portfolio.
For his lifetime of environmental justice work, EHC honored Mustafa with the Environmental Justice Champion Award in 2018. At the award ceremony, he gave a moving acceptance speech that is featured below:
Cecil Corbin-Mark
The environmental justice community endured a great loss when Harlem activist Cecil Corbin-Mark passed away on October 15, 2020. He was only 51 years old. Cecil was the Deputy Director and Director of Policy Initiatives at WE ACT, a West Harlem non-profit whose mission is to build healthy communities by ensuring that low-income communities of color participate meaningfully in the creation of environmental health and protection policies. Over his 26-year career at WE ACT, he helped develop and pass numerous bills in New York City and New York State, and managed WE ACT’s Washington, DC federal policy office.
West Harlem, New York, and the nation are so much better because of his selfless contributions of love, wisdom, and struggle. Rest in power Cecil.
To learn more about Cecil and his impact on the EJ community, click here.
Homenaje a Líderes Negros(as) en Justicia Ambiental:
La Encrucijada entre Raza y Justicia Ambiental
Febrero es Mes de la Historia Negra, una conmemoración nacional para celebrar y rendir homenaje a las innumerables aportaciones de las personas negras a nuestro país y al mundo. En honor a dicho mes, Environmental Health Coalition celebra a líderes negros(as) en el movimiento por la justicia ambiental y en nuestras comunidades. Para verdaderamente entender y apreciar a dichos(as) líderes, debemos primero reconocer la trágica historia de esclavitud, represión y racismo que ha sufrido – y con el que sigue lidiando a la fecha – el pueblo negro en nuestro país.
La lucha por la justicia ambiental es la lucha contra el racismo ambiental. Las injusticias que ha sufrido la gente de color, y en particular el pueblo Afroamericano, se documentaron en el emblemático informe Toxic Waste and Race in the United States (Residuos Tóxicos y Raza en los Estados Unidos), publicado por la Iglesia Unida de Cristo en 1987. El informe arroja que la raza es el factor más importante, por encima del nivel de ingresos de una comunidad, para decidir la ubicación de instalaciones de residuos tóxicos.
A la fecha, las comunidades negras continúan cargando con volúmenes desproporcionados de la contaminación y sus devastadores impactos en la salud. Según la American Lung Association (Asociación Pulmonar de EE.UU.) “Estudios recientes han analizado la mortalidad entre la población derechohabiente de Medicaid e identificado que quienes viven en comunidades predominantemente negras o afroamericanas sufren un mayor riesgo de muerte prematura a causa de contaminación por partículas que quienes viven en comunidades predominantemente blancas”. Tal y como dejan muy en claro estos estudios, la justicia ambiental lucha por la justicia racial, y la lucha aún no termina.
Líderes negros(as) dieron vida al movimiento por la justicia ambiental y continúan al frente de la lucha. Es un honor destacar a tan solo unos(as) cuantos(as) de estos(as) apasionados(as) y eficaces líderes quienes nos inspiran a todos(as).
Vernice Miller-Travis
Vernice ha dedicado a su vida a la justicia ambiental durante más de treinta años. Es una de las más respetadas líderes del país en el tema de justicia ambiental y la interrelación entre derechos civiles y políticas ambientales. Fue coautora del emblemático informe “Residuos Tóxicos y Raza en los Estados Unidos”. En 1991, fue una de las delegadas invitadas a la Primera Cumbre Nacional de Liderazgo Ambiental del Pueblo de Color. Durante la Cumbre, fue parte de un pequeño comité de redacción que produjo los Principios de la Justicia Ambiental. Actualmente funge como Vicepresidenta Ejecutiva de Metropolitan Group, un despacho de servicios integrales creativos y estratégicos dedicado a avanzar la justicia social.
EHC tuvo la oportunidad de preguntarle a Vernice acerca del nexo entre la justicia ambiental y la justicia racial, y ella tuvo la amabilidad de proporcionarnos la siguiente sensata respuesta:
Desde los primeros momentos de organización y abogacía en nuestras comunidades locales, entendimos que las amenazas al medioambiente y la salud pública que enfrentábamos tenían sus raíces en el racismo sistémico.
Iniciamos luchando contra el racismo ambiental. Pero este abordaje incomodó enormemente a las personas a cargo de normas a nivel local, estatal federal y del condado, así a como representantes de la industria, cuando sugerimos que el racismo sistémico estaba inmerso en uso de suelo, zonificación, vivienda y agricultura industrial, y en los patrones de desarrollo de toma de decisiones. Estas decisiones se basaban en prácticas históricas de segregación racial y étnica.
Mucho antes de que se publicara Residuos Tóxicos y Raza en los Estados Unido, Raza y la Incidencia de Amenazas Ambientales o Dumping in Dixie (Descargando en Dixie), toda persona de color en los Estados Unidos sabía sin lugar a duda que donde vivíamos nosotros era profundamente distinto a donde vivía la gente blanca, incluso si vivíamos en la misma ciudad, poblado o condado. Nuestras escuelas y hospitales eran distintos, nuestros supermercados y farmacias eran distintas. Los sistemas de transporte eran distintos. Cuando digo distintos, me refiero a que eran profundamente desiguales. Pero, de manera más importante, el aire que respirábamos y el agua que tomábamos en la mayoría de los casos estaban llenos de contaminantes. Esto ocasionaba que nos enfermáramos más y que nuestra expectativa de vida fuera más corta.
La lucha por la Justicia Ambiental es hoy y siempre ha sido una lucha por justicia racial e igualdad de trato ante la ley.
Eric Wilson
Eric Wilson es Director de Recursos Humanos y Administración en Environmental Health Coalition. Eric cuenta con más de 20 años de experiencia administrativa y operativa en empresas con y sin fines de lucro. Su corazón late por la labor de justicia ambiental y social. A través de su liderazgo, Eric crea un entorno laboral de colaboración y apoyo en el que el personal de EHC puede desarrollarse para convertirse en paladines de la justicia ambiental y ayudar a residentes a materializar su poder innato en aras de crear barrios saludables y libres de contaminación.
Eric nos comparte, “Soy apasionado por la justicia ambiental y social por un incidente que me ocurrió cuando tenía como 14 [años]. Arrestaron a mi cuñado sin causa y lo golpearon muy fuerte porque conducía por una colonia donde no pertenecía. Estuvo hospitalizado varias semanas. Fue entonces que descubrí lo que significa ser negro en Estados Unidos, ya que mi padre me tuvo que explicar esta doble moral. Me enojó tanto que nunca he olvidado la experiencia, y desde entonces he tenido el deseo de luchar por lo correcto. Me apego fielmente a la cita del Dr. King:
‘Nuestras vidas empiezan a terminar el día que guardamos silencio ante las cosas que importan”. “La verdadera medida de un hombre no es su postura en circunstancias convenientes y cómodas, sino su postura en tiempos de retos y controversias”.
Dra. Roberta Alexander
Al haber sido Pantera Negra, Roberta ha dedicado su vida a justicia social, educación y enriquecimiento cultural. En su función como integrante de la Junta Directiva de 2012 a la fecha, Roberta ha ayudado a guiar a Environmental Health Coalition a través de más de una década de retos y triunfos en justicia ambiental. Fue docente en el Distrito Escolar de Universidades Técnicas de San Diego (San Diego Community College District) durante más de 35 años y, durante su cargo, fungió como Jefa del Departamento de Inglés Como Lengua Extranjera en Educación Continua dentro de la escuela para adultos Centre City, así como Jefa del Departamento de Inglés en San Diego City College.
Roberta nos comparte, “En los sesenta, viví en las llanuras de North Richmond junto a la refinería tóxica de Chevron, lugar en el que no por accidente gente de tez negra y café sigue constituyendo la gran mayoría de la población. Todos los días sin excepción, nuestros(as) hijos(as) siguen batallando por respirar entre vapores tóxicos en barrios como este. De hecho, aquí mismo en San Diego, en el resto del país y en otros en el extranjero contaminación atmosférica, plantas de residuos peligrosos, intoxicación por plomo, cambio climático y contaminación del agua afectan desproporcionadamente a gente pobre y de color.
George Floyd, en los momentos de su asesinato por una rodilla sobre su cuello lamentó, ‘no puedo respirar’. Nuestros(as) niños(as) usan las mismas tres palabras cuando sufren de un ataque de asma”.
Mustafa Santiago Ali
Mustafa es un líder de opinión y activista comprometido a luchar por la justicia ambiental y la equidad económica. Trabajó en la Agencia de Protección Ambiental de EE.UU. (EPA, por sus siglas en inglés) durante 24 años. En EPA, fungió como Subadministrador Asistente de Justicia Ambiental y como Asesor en Jefe en Materia de Justicia Ambiental y Revitalización de Comunidades. Durante su periodo con dicha dependencia, trabajó de manera transversal con otras dependencias federales para fortalecer políticas, programas e iniciativas de justicia ambiental. Además, dirigió el Grupo de Trabajo Interdependencia de Justicia Ambiental (Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice, o EJIWG), integrado por 17 dependencias federales y oficinas de la Casa Blanca enfocadas a implementar estrategias integrales para abordar las problemáticas que enfrentan comunidades vulnerables. En 2017, renunció a su puesto en EPA para sumarse a la bancada Hip Hop y dirigir su cartera de trabajo en Justicia Ambiental y Revitalización de Comunidades.
Por su labor vitalicia en pro de la justicia ambiental, EHC galardonó a Mustafa con el Premio Paladín de Justicia Ambiental en 2018. Durante la ceremonia de reconocimiento, dio un conmovedor discurso de aceptación que podrá encontrar en el siguiente enlace:
Cecil Corbin-Mark
La comunidad de justicia ambiental sufrió una gran pérdida al fallecer el activista de Harlem Corbin-Mark el 15 de octubre de 2020. Cecil fue Subdirector y Director de Iniciativas Políticas en WE ACT, una organización sin fines de lucro en West Harlem cuya misión es crear comunidades saludables mediante vigilar que comunidades de escasos recursos y de color tengan oportunidad de participar plenamente en la creación de políticas de salud y protección ambiental. Durante sus 26 años de trayectoria en WE ACT, colaboró en el desarrollo y la aprobación de un sinnúmero de proyectos de ley en la Ciudad de Nueva York y el Estado de Nueva York, y administró la oficina de políticas federales de WE ACT en Washington, D.C.
West Harlem, Nueva York y el país están en mucho mejor situación gracias a sus generosas aportaciones de amor, sabiduría y lucha. Descansa en poder, Cecil.
Para conocer mayores detalles acerca de Cecil y su impacto en la comunidad de Justicia Ambiental, haga clic aquí..
A new day! Yesterday was probably the most monumental Presidential Inauguration in our lifetimes and perhaps ever. With the new leadership of President Biden and Vice President Harris, we can look forward to bold action on the pandemic, climate change, environmental justice, economic recovery, and racial justice. The Biden-Harris Administration has proposed an ambitious agenda that inspires hope for the entire country but speaks especially loudly to communities of color that have been hardest hit by COVID-19 illnesses, death, and its economic impacts, as well as climate pollution and racist actions in policing and immigration.
While the last four years have been extremely difficult for the country and especially for our environmental justice communities, we know that the discriminatory policies that allowed exposure to toxins and subsequently higher disease rates did not start in the last four years. The assaults on our lives, our families, and human rights started long ago and have been upheld by local, state, and federal governments.
Amplifying the hopeful federal agenda, the slate of newly elected and appointed local officials at the County Board of Supervisors, San Diego and National City Councils, Port Commission and the reformed San Diego Air Pollution Control District Board are all positioned to take action to make real and lasting change. Now, at every level, officials have pledged to make substantial, significant and meaningful change to improve the lives of our communities.
Environmental Health Coalition is ready for this auspicious moment, but it will be a challenge. The neglect and mistreatment have left scars and the division in our country is wide. As President Biden also said, “The divisions in our country, while deep, are not new. The battle is perennial.” We must stand with our communities to demand justice as we have clear evidence, from the insurrection at the Capitol to the razor-thin election results, that the calls for continued discrimination are loud.
Versión en Español
¡Un nuevo día! Ayer vivimos la Inauguración Presidencial posiblemente más monumental en nuestras vidas y tal vez en la historia. Bajo el nuevo liderazgo del Presidente Biden y la Vicepresidenta Harris, anticipamos acciones audaces ante la pandemia, el cambio climático, la justicia ambiental, la recuperación económica y la justicia social. La Administración Biden-Harris propone una ambiciosa agenda de trabajo que inspira esperanza para el país entero, pero que se dirige en una voz particularmente alta a las comunidades de color que han sido las más afectadas por enfermedad, muertes y afectaciones económicas relacionadas con COVID-19, así como con la contaminación ambiental y acciones racistas en la actuación policial y en migración.
A pesar de que los últimos cuatro años han sido extremadamente difíciles para el país y especialmente para nuestras comunidades de justicia ambiental, estamos conscientes de que las políticas discriminatorias que permitieron exposiciones a toxinas y por ende mayores tasas de enfermedades no iniciaron en estos últimos cuatro años. Los atentados contra nuestras vidas, nuestras familias y nuestros derechos humanos comenzaron hace tiempo y los han sostenido gobiernos locales, estatales y federales.
En amplificación de la esperanzadora agenda de trabajo federal, tenemos a toda una serie de funcionarios(as) públicos(as) recientemente electos(as) o designados(as) a la Junta de Supervisores del Condado, los Cabildos de San Diego y National City, la Comisión Portuaria y la reformada Mesa Directiva del Distrito de Control de la Contaminación Atmosférica de San Diego, posicionados(as) para actuar en aras de lograr cambios verdaderos y perdurables. Hoy, en todos los niveles, contamos con funcionarios(as) públicos(as) que se han comprometido a lograr cambios sustantivos, sustanciales y trascendentes que mejoren las vidas de nuestras comunidades.
Environmental Health Coalition está preparada para este auspicioso momento, aunque sabemos que será un reto. El descuido y el maltrato han dejado cicatrices y la división en nuestro país es extensa. Como también indicó el Presidente Biden, “las divisiones en nuestro país, aunque profundas, no son nuevas. La lucha es eterna”. Debemos elevarnos junto con nuestras comunidades para exigir justicia, ya que tenemos clara evidencia – desde la insurrección en el Capitolio hasta los estrechos márgenes de las elecciones – de que el llamado por una continua discriminación sigue fuerte.
In 2020, Californians dealt with historic wildfires, extreme heat, and power blackouts, all in the midst of a pandemic. California’s most vulnerable communities have endured the greatest harm from the widening racial, socioeconomic, and health inequities of COVID-19 and lack of resilient energy infrastructure.
Ten months into the COVID-19 pandemic, we know that our collective health and safety depends on both in-home resilience and economic support. In-home resilience means, first, that people have access to shelter, and second, that they have access to resources to meet their needs while sheltering in place.
The Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program is an unprecedented investment in clean energy serving low-income and disadvantaged communities, and a key strategy to building in-home resilience for California’s renters. In the absence of statewide rent forgiveness or sustained basic income, solar energy can provide critical financial relief. Additionally, the SOMAH program creates pathways to well-paying, essential jobs in the solar industry by building paid training opportunities into every project.
In its first year, SOMAH has received 158 applications; 29% of these applications are located in disadvantaged communities (or DACs), benefiting those who are most impacted by institutionalized racism and environmental pollution. Once constructed, these SOMAH projects will benefit Californians by:
Providing savings for nearly 32,000 tenant units
Sending 90% of the savings directly to renters
Creating over 700 job training opportunities
Building resilience requires deep collaboration and a community-based approach. EHC advocated for the legislation that created the SOMAH program and has worked to ensure the program provides maximum community benefit since its launch in July 2019. EHC is one of five community-based organizations (CBOs) that work directly with the program administrator to help communicate program benefits to tenants, job seekers and the community we live in.
Our work with the SOMAH program builds off of the deep roots we have in San Diego, National City and the border region’s environmental justice (EJ) communities since 1980. In 2020, we helped build community resilience while overcoming the barriers of the digital divide. We’ve organized and advocated from our homes to help elect bold new leadership, ensure our community members were counted in the census, and continue fighting for the right to live, work, and play free from pollution.
If you rent an apartment, you could save on your electric bills through the SOMAH program. To learn more about how SOMAH can help your landlord convert your building to low-cost solar energy, visit: https://calsomah.org/tenants
