Earlier this year, Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida was selected as a member of the Dismantling Energy Inequity in Communities of Color (DEICC) initiative by the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC). The Institute for Sustainable Communities’ (ISC) Dismantling Energy Inequity in Communities of Color (DEICC) initiative is an 18-month program, funded by the Tides Foundation with resources from Wells Fargo, that will activate community resilience and dismantle energy insecurity in 10 communities of color across the United States through the development of solar community resilience hubs.
The grant received will support the development of two community-serving resilience bubs in South Florida to augment existing support and services to our customers in the surrounding neighborhoods. These Resilience Hubs aim to increase social, health and economic outcomes and enhance the quality of life for some of South Florida’s most vulnerable residents and communities.
Community resilience hubs are equitably-designed community centers that support community residents by coordinating communications, providing social and educational programs, distributing resources, and reducing carbon pollution. While a resilience hub can take many shapes, most hubs are solar-powered with energy storage provided by battery backups, thereby producing less greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional buildings.
The clean energy component ensures that hubs can be used as temporary shelters during climate disasters such as flooding and power outages and can serve as cooling centers in summer and heat shelters in the winter, particularly in communities impacted by energy-inefficient housing. Hubs exist at the intersection of climate change mitigation, social and racial equity, community resilience, and emergency management, particularly in divested communities seeking self-actualization.
As part of this initiative, NHSSF seeks to engage and empower community-based organizations, South Florida residents, local historically Black colleges and universities in South Florida, as well as local government and other key stakeholders to create community-driven climate mitigation solutions, including resilience hubs.
Do you want to learn about the NHSSF-DEICC resilience hubs initiative? Do you want to partner with us in supporting our neighborhoods with community-driven climate mitigation solutions?
Email us or call!
Natasha Campbell
Energy Consultant at NHSSF
hbcucleanenergycoalition@gmail.com
Juan Carlos Gordillo
Marketing & Communications Coordinator at NHSSF
juang@nhssf.org
786-237-2122
About ISC
Founded in 1991, The Institute for Sustainable Communities supports communities around the world grappling with environmental, economic, and social challenges. We unleash the power of people to transform their communities by ensuring that equitable solutions emerge from the bottom-up. We spark creative solutions and lasting change by sharing global best practices and experiences, delivering technical expertise and training, and strengthening local leaders, organizations, and institutions. More information on the Institute for Sustainable Communities can be found at sustain.org or follow us on Twitter @SustainableComm
