Unite Oregon Organizer, Rene Braga, Reflects on the Importance of Climate Resilience Hubs
As we approach wildfire season in Oregon, we continue to reflect on the devastating effects of climate change in our daily lives. Unite Oregon Community Organizer, Rene Braga, shares with us in this video the challenges he faced in the aftermath of the Almeda fires in 2020. That climate disaster must always remind us that community-based organizations and volunteers were the first responders. Their actions were crucial to saving many lives; without their heroic actions, many more lives would have been lost.
Rene is a devoted organizer who left his job as a banker to join Unite Oregon and dedicate himself to the good of the community. The 2020 wildfires greatly affected his immediate family and his local community. This prompted Rene to take action and start a campaign aimed at helping not only his family, but local BIPOC populations that did not know how to advocate for themselves and access resources during the process of recovery. Since then, Rene has acted as a recovery navigator for the Southern Oregon Latinx community.
It is known that wildfires have become the new normal for Oregon summers. Unite Oregon has proposed an innovative solution to tackle the climate crisis, especially in rural areas that are often last to receive help. Community Resilience Hubs are centers at the service of the community in times of crisis, providing information, shelter, and other types of support. Unite Oregon, together with a coalition of community-based organizations, is advocating for the passage of HB 2990, which will allow the State government to fund the creation of these hubs and ensure all of our communities are given the resources necessary in times of hardship. We are stronger together. If we act now to invest in building stronger communities, we will create the resources and connections to make it easier for Oregonians the next time disaster strikes.
