Today the Governor’s Office will join the California Strategic Growth Council, California Department of Food and Agriculture, partners from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), City and County of Sacramento officials, and community leaders to celebrate the groundbreaking of the first ever climate resiliency center in the Capital City.
The La Familia Counseling Center will break ground at the site of its future Opportunity Center/Resilience Hub on the corner of 37th Avenue and Franklin Boulevard in South Sacramento. Once constructed, the new building is set to serve as a cooling center during extreme heat events, while also providing supportive resources like career training, parenting workshops, and healthcare services to residents year-round.
“As we wrap another heat event in California, the importance of this Opportunity Center and Resilience Hub becomes very clear. Let La Familia’s Center be seen as an example of what we can accomplish when all layers of government work with communities to build true neighborhood level climate resilience.”
The groundbreaking and kickoff of construction comes due to a federal grant awarded in August from the EPA and new Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grant Program. The federal grant builds off a federal designation La Familia Counseling Center received in May as Sacramento’s first climate resilience hub.
“From federal grants to local support, every layer of our government has come together to ensure South Sacramento has the resources it needs to thrive in the face of climate challenges. Biggest thanks to La Familia’s Executive Director, Rachel Ríos, and her staff for having the vision and fortitude to tackle income inequality, opportunity, and climate change all at once. Together, we are building a resilient and empowered Sacramento for generations to come."
La Familia has received support from county, state, and federal leaders to expand services at the Opportunity Center/Resilience Hub and surrounding neighborhood – this includes $5 million from a CDFA grant, $2 million from the California Department of Public Health, $750,000 from U.S. Housing and Urban Development, and $1 million from the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors.
They are also part of the first wave of community projects to receive grant writing assistance for their EPA grant through SGC’s Connecting Communities Initiative, a program announced in November 2023 to help local partners statewide access historic federal funding made available through the Inflation Reduction Act.