Project Overview
For Spanish and additional language translations of this website, please use your internet browser's translation tools.
Para ver este sitio web en Español u otros idiomas, utilice las herramientas de traducción de su navegador de internet.
California is experiencing the acceleration of unprecedented climate disasters. Many of our communities have lived through the first few phases of climate disasters and now have the opportunity to apply lessons we have learned to how we prepare ourselves for the current and additional impending crises: Most California localities are wildly underprepared. Some of the biggest challenges have been language access, cultural relevancy, and bridging the gaps of racial and economic inequities and emergency response models that are siloed and do not address community needs before, during, and after a crisis. Smaller, more community-driven organizations have been more effective than larger NGO or government entities in reaching those most in need, and yet are profoundly underresourced.
There is no time to waste. As we prepare for and recover from climate crises, our communities are seeing that we can’t rebuild with the same values that resulted in the destruction we are seeing all around us. We must rebuild with the common good at the center of our communities, our governance models, and our relationship to the land, air, water, energy, and one another.
Mobilization
Over the last few years, 12 community-academic partnerships rooted in climate vulnerable communities throughout California participated in a learning cohort to accelerate equity-focused climate resilience planning and action. The cohort learned values, methods, and practices of participatory action research, popular education facilitation, and community-driven climate resilience.
One of the cohort's cross-cutting research outcomes was that resident leaders observe their communities to be underprepared and under-resourced for climate disaster response. They identified the need for better and more community-relevant climate disaster emergency response curriculum. Cohort participants then gathered leaders from seven additional climate vulnerable communities, who echoed and expanded upon these observations.
Mobilization of the ALL HANDS curriculum arises from these roots.
In each participating community…
Organizers of the workshop series establish (or strengthen an existing) coalition dedicated to community-driven climate disaster preparedness, response, & recovery
Participants develop a community-driven climate disaster preparedness and response plan with participation of neighbors
Participants gain a deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change
Participants gain new skills and knowledge that support them in feeling confident to serve their communities in disaster preparedness and response
Coalition/cohort leaves with at least one proactive climate solution that is needed to build climate resilience in their community
