End-of-the-Year Highlights with NorCal Resilience
Last Thursday, NorCal Resilience held its virtual Quarterly Meeting event, where member organizations of the nonprofit came together to reflect on ways in which they have continued to impact their communities during an exceptionally challenging year. As 2020 comes to a close, individuals and communities around the world are left with a rapidly growing need for unity, compassion, and purpose.
Xochitl Moreno, Co-Founder of Essential Food and Medicine (EFAM) spoke of a time when the community held individuals together during a time of political instability and police brutality. One Friday night in October, EFAM members delivered medicine to a group of people in moments of high stress and trauma during the Black Lives Matter movement. As communities fearlessly rose in solidarity, EFAM members saw this as an opportunity for healing and unity, and focused their efforts on supporting individuals in reclaiming their sovereignty through spiritual healing. EFAM collectively decided to remain still, rise above, and play their drums as a means of holding a safe space for individuals on the front lines. In the face of violence and corruption, EFAM bravely held their ground and dedicated themselves to strengthening the unwavering presence of the community.
Phoenix Armenta, an herbalist and educator with the Mycelium Youth Network, provided insight for members at the meeting regarding how the network responded to the fires this year. The network collectively worked to bring about a sense of awareness regarding the poor air quality as a direct result of human-induced fires exacerbated by climate change. The network is raising awareness through their “Clean Air is a Right” program, which aims to educate individuals on how they can improve their indoor and outdoor air quality. As the fires began to spread rapidly, the network offered courses on how to make a DIY air filter, as well as how to prepare herbs in a way that will improve lung health and function.
Mycelium Youth Network reached out to the City of Oakland to learn about what efforts were being made in response to the fires, but members were disappointed to find out that the city efforts were not enough. Members of the Youth Network understood that the response to fires had to be a community-led effort, and the network is dedicated to providing resources that will help to strengthen and heal local communities.
PLACE, an Oakland-based community center and member of NorCal Resilience, has been stepping up to the task of strengthening connection through their mission to foster regenerative living practices. Paola Diaz, an Event Steward at PLACE, acknowledges this as a time of utmost importance in honoring communities and individuals who have been marginalized due to an increasingly unstable economy and corrupt political climate.
Dedicated to deepening human connection and networks, Paola reflected on how PLACE volunteers came together to overcome the harrowing social, psychological, and financial challenges brought forth by the pandemic. Volunteers at PLACE have chosen Crowdcast, a live-streaming online platform, as new means of providing a virtual safe space while still feeling connected to others. Volunteers at PLACE have been working toward one common goal- bringing forth a decolonized vision of community and connection to the planet.
The NorCal Resilience Network also continues to catalyze a just transition to an equitable and regenerative region by supporting and activating community-based, ecological solutions in Northern California. One of the Network’s bigger projects this year has been the development of the Resilience Hubs Initiative. The goal of the initiative is to create a network of hubs, spaces, blocks, and neighborhoods in California as demonstration sites for sustainability and ecological practices. The initiative supports community-led, climate-friendly disaster preparedness and response efforts for underserved communities.
The Resilience Hubs Initiative will be holding a Leadership Training program from January to July in 2021. There will be monthly sessions led by community and content experts covering a wide array of topics ranging from holistic permaculture principles to food security and disaster preparedness. Apply through our online form by December 20, 2020 to join the program and become a part of the just transition!
