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The Importance of Resilience Hubs

As wildfires raged across Canada this July, Detroit, MI at one point reached the worst air quality in the world. According to an article from ClickonDetroit, the short-term air quality index (AQI) values in Detroit peaked at 724 in Southwest Detroit on Thursday, July 16th. Emergency room admittance increased as individuals with asthma, COPD, and other chronic conditions were disproportionately affected by the poor air quality. At the same time, Detroit was undergoing a severe heat wave. This extreme heat led to power outages, where residents could no longer rely on their AC or window-units to filter the poor air quality. Some folks could only experience relief from the heat by opening their windows, exposing them to the dangerous air quality. The combination of these crises led to an increase in civilian needs that most city infrastructure cannot support.

Unfortunately, many U.S. cities are not currently equipped with the resources needed to survive the fossil-fuel induced climate disasters that we are experiencing now and will see in our near future. However, in Detroit, boots-on-the-ground organizations like EcoWorks, Michigan Interfaith Power & Light, and Solar Faithful, are working on creating a network of resilience hubs to serve the communities of Detroit during climate-related emergencies. Through a combination of federal and philanthropic funding focused on climate resilience and community infrastructure, several trusted community-serving organizations across the city are being transformed into resilience hubs. Resilience hubs are defined as trusted organizations that provide emergency preparedness resources such as food access, heating/cooling, and electricity to surrounding residents during emergencies and non-emergencies.

            The strength, importance, and positive impact of resilience hubs was clearly shown during the heat wave and air pollution crisis in Detroit this summer. SDM2 Project Education, a community-based nonprofit organization within the city of Detroit, MI, has the mission of building strong Detroit communities through strengthening Detroit families. SDM2 is included in the Detroit Community Resilient Hub Initiative, a program led by EcoWorks, Michigan Interfaith Power & Light, and Solar Faithful. This initiative is supporting houses of worship and food assistance programs in EJ neighborhoods to transform their facilities into community resilience hubs. While several food pantries had to close because of the extreme heat, SDM2 was able to remain open and continue serving the community. Without the energy efficient infrastructure that was installed at SDM2, they would not have been able to remain open. SDM2 was able to provide food for 399 households during this time. Hear from Jackie Moore, founder of SDM2, about the impact this had on their community in the video below.

Watch the video here!

Unfortunately, severe weather events are likely to continue and increase in severity. It is crucial that we continue building a network of resilient hubs in every city across the U.S in order to meet every individual’s needs. We’re happy to say that Detroit, Michigan is well on their way to that goal, and Solar Faithful is a committed partner on the journey of meeting this goal.

Boston Square is a modest congregation that meets in a traditional looking building on the southeast side of Grand Rapids. The church building was built in 1952, but the congregation started much earlier. Boston Square Church describes itself as a passionate community experiencing spiritual transformation for building the Kingdom of God.

Boston Square Church

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Size: 10.070 kW

Financing: ESSA

Construction company: Chart House Energy

Produces energy to cover 60% of the church’s annual electricity usage

Upcoming Events & Highlights

The Solar Faithful team will be attending Resilience and Equity in the Clean Energy Sector Summit (RECESS) in Detroit Sunday, September 27th through Tuesday, September 29th.

RECESS stands for Resilience and Equity in the Clean Energy Sector Summit. RECESS is a place where everyone is invited. We welcome people from all backgrounds while intentionally creating access and opportunity for Black, Indigenous, Brown, and other historically underrepresented communities as we build a bigger, more welcoming table together.

Register here.