Community Resilience

CID purchased and deployed ten YETI 1500X portable power stations and conducted events with partners Puente de la Costa Sur and Menlo Park Senior Center to assist participants in developing personal emergency plans. The emergency plans were designed to help individuals with disabilities, individuals with medical needs, and/or older adults think through how to meet needs such as related to medical devices, medication and evacuation, ahead of an emergency.  The portable power station effort filled a critical gap in CID’s ability to serve all of San Mateo County, bringing 13 cities and several unincorporated areas on the bay side, and in northern and central communities of the county to be able to access this program. Learn more about CID Disability Disaster Access & Resources.

Hope United Methodist Church and California Interfaith Power & Light worked together to develop a new resilience center at the church site in South San Francisco and conduct climate resilience and emergency preparedness events. They installed a back-up battery to work with their solar panels and automatically power the fellowship hall during outages. Upgraded HVAC filters complement HUMC’s air purifiers to protect congregants and residents during wildfire smoke events. The center was dedicated on Sunday, December 11, 2022, at HUMC’s Advent service which included a themed sermon and presentations, a bell choir, spiritual dance, and a Samoan chorus. Echoing Pastor Current’s message of being a “light to the world,” the congregation and visitors sang “This Little Light of Mine” and processed to the courtyard where the solar panels and battery stack were visible, and a green ribbon stretched across the entrance to the fellowship hall. The Pastor offered a dedication prayer and the most senior congregation member cut the ribbon and christened the hall the “Hope Resilience Center.” Learn more about Hope United Methodist Church and California Interfaith Power & Light.

Photo: Pastor Current addresses attendees at the hub opening

Senior Coastsiders is now open as a Community Resilience Hub in Half Moon Bay during their regular business hours. Outfitted with air coolers and purifiers, misting fans, charging ports, indoor and outdoor air quality monitors, and thermal window coverings for temperature control, their facility serves as a cooling center, charging station, and clean air haven during extreme heat, power outages and poor air quality. The kick-off event celebrating Senior Coastsiders’ new equipment and showcasing their disaster preparedness and climate resilience partnerships took place on August 17, 2022. Since then, Senior Coastsiders has coordinated with County of San Mateo and City of Half Moon Bay related to disaster response. Their hub will serve older adults and the general population during emergencies. Senior Coastsiders’ staff serve community members in English, Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese. Learn more about Senior Coastsiders.

El Concilio of San Mateo County has launched a study to compare the efficacy of heat resilience approaches designed to be under the decision-making control of low-income, socially vulnerable renters. El Concilio will leverage their Promatora program and partnerships to complete the outreach and implementation of the project. Two interventions, cellular window shades and portable heat pumps will be studied in 40 renter households in socially vulnerable communities at greater risk for climate-linked heat impacts: unincorporated North Fair Oaks, Redwood City, the Belle Haven area of Menlo Park, and East Palo Alto. Homes with older adults or young children, people with health conditions affected by heat, and homes with high occupancy will be prioritized. Learn more about El Concilio.

With the support of Silicon Valley Community Foundation Donor Circle for the Environment, the Open Architecture Collaborative (OAC) and Sustainability Department collaborated in 2020 and 2021 to adapt and tailor OAC’s Pathways 2 Equity (P2E) training model for a cohort of County and C/CAG staff working in planning and implementation roles related to climate resilience. The formal training was followed by an opportunity to practice new skills and support a real-time project with a community-based organization, North Fair Oaks Community Alliance (NFOCA).  Learn more about the SMC Climate Equity Training and Collaboration (PDF).