[Excerpts]
In 2021, Hurricane Ida knocked out eight transmission lines and 31,000 utility poles in Louisiana. This left 1 million people without power, with some outages lasting several weeks. In the heat wave that followed, 10 people died without air conditioning.
Launched only six weeks earlier, Together New Orleans solidified a clear vision after Ida: They would organize “resilience hubs” powered by solar energy within a 15-minute walk of every resident in Southeast Louisiana. The hubs, called “community lighthouses,” would provide charging stations during power outages, invite residents to cooling stations during heat waves, and offer food during emergencies….
Together New Orleans’ parent network, Together Louisiana, which expanded from Together Baton Rouge (founded in 2010), has opened 19 community lighthouses across the state, many at houses of worship or other community institutions…..
Together Louisiana might be the most developed community-led network of resilience hubs in the country, and one of its strengths might be its Catholic roots….
What is a parish after all? It’s a geographic entity wherein Catholic institutions are responsible for the well-being of every soul—not only sacramentally but also practically. “I’ve always loved that idea,” [says Broderick Bagert, a lead organizer for Together New Orleans]. "It is the same idea [with resilience hubs]. It’s a practical living out of that idea, trying to make that literally the case. This is our boundary, and this is our response plan."
We think this has a very practical disaster response, energy-related, but also it is related to the mission of these organizations and their ability to live it out.”....
When resilience organizing begins with community engagement, the strengths of various members can also be leveraged in ways that go beyond resilience hub networks. This spring, for example, the Sisters of the Holy Family broke ground on the first community solar project in the Deep South on the sisters’ unused property. But the project wouldn’t have been possible without Together New Orleans.
Back in 2022, [congregational leader Sister Alicia] Costa offered the organization more land. “We have 22 acres behind St. Mary’s that are not used. All we’re doing is cutting grass,” she says. The land is big enough for more than a community lighthouse—the property can accommodate a community solar array, which would allow neighbor households to subscribe and pay a reduced electric bill.
But the sisters faced local policy disincentives—which many states maintain—that made a large solar development financially infeasible. So Together New Orleans advocated at local meetings and triggered a change: The local municipal utility agreed to buy additional power generated by privately owned systems at a rate high enough to make the investment worth it. “It wasn’t just that the rules changed, it was that faith communities responded and advocated to change those rules,” Bagert says. “Sometimes you hit obstacles, but then sometimes you can change policies.”
[Photo credit: U.S. Catholic]
Amid Extreme Weather, Church Resilience Hubs Provide Safety, U.S. Catholic [pdf]
The Spark: The 'Community Lighthouses' Where Neighbors Help Neighbors, Reasons to be Cheerful [pdf]