Interviews available: Shina Robinson, APEN Resilience Hub Manager; APEN Chinatown members who have been part of designing and advocating for the resilience hub at Lincoln Recreation Center.
Oakland and Richmond, California
When a disaster hits, where do you go? This is a question more and more Californians and people across the U.S. are facing from wildfires to extreme heat to flooding and more. The Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) has popularized the idea of “resilience hubs”. Resilience hubs take places that people already know and trust like youth centers, schools, libraries, and places of worship, and turn them into spaces that can support communities through disasters. In 2021, APEN helped win funding for the creation of the Strategic Growth Council’s Community Resilience Centers pilot program. In 2023, APEN helped the City of Oakland win a $9.25 million grant from the state of California to provide shelter and extend services during emergency events. Today, APEN members are bringing neighbors together to design resilience hubs in Richmond and Oakland, so that people can not only cope and survive climate disasters, but find opportunities to build strength and thrive.
Learn more: https://apen4ej.org