In the last month alone, we bore witness to two climate disasters — wildfires burned through over 2 million acres in the West Coast, while Hurricane Ida brought historical levels of flooding to the East Coast, decimating homes and communities. In California, where the fires raged just as harvest season was in full swing, farmworkers put their bodies and health on the line to pick fruits, nuts and vegetables in dangerously smoky fields. In Louisiana, Hurricane Ida destroyed the homes and businesses of people that were still healing from damage caused by Hurricane Katrina which disproportionately affected Black and Brown communities.
The fires and the floods ravaging our most vulnerable communities are yet another reminder that the climate crisis is already here and it’s made one thing abundantly clear: climate justice is racial and economic justice.
Severe weather and devastating storms are a direct result of our changing climate. While each of us has to reckon with the impact of these climate disasters, Black, Indigenous and immigrant communities, and low income folks are often in the front lines of climate disaster, and most marginalized during disaster preparedness and relief efforts.
We must strive for a climate response and disaster relief efforts that center frontline communities that are bearing the brunt of our extractive systems. In the meantime, individuals and families in impacted regions still need our direct support to recover from these events.
We crowdsourced and verified a list of organizations providing relief to folks impacted by the wildfires in California and the tropical storm in Louisiana. Please note, this list was crowdsourced from our network and is not an exhaustive list. Please email info@healfoodalliance if you’d like to add a fund or organization to the list.
Support communities of color, immigrant communities and farmworkers impacted by the California wildfires
- UndocuFund supports undocumented individuals and families in Sonoma County including farm workers. Donate here.
- The Sonoma County Grape Growers Foundation’s Wildfire Housing Support Fund raises money to provide relief to Sonoma County farmworkers. Learn more and donate here. If you are a farmworker and require support with rent or for purchasing trailers for temporary, housing, the Sonoma County Grape Growers Foundation’s Wildfire Housing Support Fund is offering financial assistance toward new and/or temporary housing, supplementing lost wages, and providing gift cards to purchase new household items, food and supplies. Learn more here.
- Santa Cruz Community Ventures is providing financial support to undocumented persons who were impacted by the wildfires in Santa Cruz and Monterey County. Donate here. If you need support to cover loss of wages, loss of employment, or loss of housing due to the fires, please call them (831)225-0545 to leave a voicemail anytime, stating your full name, phone number, and best times to reach you.
- The Latino Community Foundation‘s NorCal Wildfire Relief Fund invests in grassroots Latino nonprofit organizations in Sonoma and Napa Counties, including Corazon and North Bay Organizing Project. Donate here.
- The California Association of Food Banks represents more than 40 food banks in the state that provide food to millions of residents. Donate here.
Other organizations to Support
- Lideres Campesinas supports women farmworkers in advocating for themselves and becoming agents of economic, social and political change in their communities.
- Community 2 Community supports and organizes the migrant farm worker communities in Washington State
Support Indigenous, Black, and Brown farmers and frontline folks impacted by Hurricane Ida
- The People’s Advocacy Institute is moving resources to Black-Led grassroots relief efforts and direct needs in Mississippi in the wake of Hurricane Ida through the Mississippi Rapid Response Coalition. Donate here. Click here if you’d like to volunteer your time. If you are in need of support, call 1-800-608-1031 for support.
- The Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy (GGCLP) is currently working with partners and communities to assess the immediate and long-term impacts of the storm. Donate to the GCCLP Disaster Response Fund here and read their statement for more ways you can help.
- RAFI-USA provides disaster assistance for farmers and their rural communities. Their website also contains resources relating to disaster preparedness. You can learn more and sign up for their newsletter to receive notices of open opportunities for disaster funding. If you need immediate support, you can also call their Farmer Hotline toll-free at 866.586.6746. The hotline is open Monday-Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m EST.
- Not all impacted communities have set up relief funds or have online donation portals. Another Gulf will distribute goods and donations directly to Indigenous, black, and brown frontline folks impacted by Hurricane Ida and groups who currently don’t have online donations capacity, as well as directly to individual families impacted by the storm. Their website also contains resources on disaster preparedness and recovery. Learn more about who these resources are supporting and donate here.
- Isle de Jean Charles, an island in the bayous of Louisiana and home to the Isle de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Tribe was decimated by Hurricane Ida. You can donate directly to their rapid response fund here.
- The Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe is a small community of Indians that live along Bayou Pointe-au-Chien in South Louisiana. Help them rebuild their homes and community by donating here.
- A Hurricane Ida relief fund has been made available for undocumented New Yorkers who do not qualify for FEMA assistance. Undocumented immigrants located in the Bronx, Kings, Nassau, Queens, Richmond, Suffolk, Westchester and Rockland qualify for support. Contact the following organizations for more information:
- Bronx – Catholic Charities Community Services, 402 East 152nd Street, Bronx, NY 10455
- Brooklyn – Chinese American Planning Council, 4101 8th Ave, 4th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11232
- Queens – MinKwon, 133-29 41st Avenue, Suite 202, Flushing, NY 11355
- Queens – Make the Road, 92-10 Roosevelt Ave, Jackson Heights, NY 11372
- Staten Island – Make the Road, 161 Port Richmond Ave, Staten Island, NY 10302
- Nassau – Economic Opportunity Commission of Nassau County, 134 Jackson Street, Hempstead, NY 11550
- Suffolk – Make the Road, 1090 Suffolk Ave, Brentwood, NY 11717
- Westchester & Rockland – NeighborsLink, 27 Columbus Ave, Mount Kisco, NY 10549
Other organizations to support
- The Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy(GGCLP) is a public interest law firm and justice center with a mission to advance climate justice and ecological equity in communities of color on the frontlines of climate change in the Gulf South. Support their ongoing efforts here.
Support Haitian asylum seekers
- Haitian Bridge Alliance is currently on the ground helping Haitians seeking asylum in Del Rio, Texas. They provide critical assistance to feed, clothe, shelter, and transport families to reunite with their loved ones across the country and provide resources to the ones expelled to the southern border. Donate now to support their efforts and Welcome With Dignity.
- Movement for Black Lives(M4BL)’s 2021 Ayiti/Haiti Solidarity Support List contains information about local and US based Haitian-led organizations to support, follow and build with and more solidarity resources.
Other organizations to support
Please note, this list was crowdsourced from our network and is not an exhaustive list. Please email info@healfoodalliance if you’d like to add a fund or organization to the list.