Karina Meza
California Latinos Show Overwhelming Support for Protecting Public Lands and Addressing Climate Change
LOS ANGELES – A statewide survey of California voters, commissioned by the nonprofit Hispanic Access Foundation and conducted by David Binder Research, finds that even in the midst of economic challenges posed by the pandemic, an overwhelming majority of voters overall (89%) and Latino voters (92%) believe investments should still be made to protect California’s land, water, and wildlife. The poll also found that Latino voter support for proposals to help achieve that investment and address the climate crisis outpaced that of the overall voting public.
HAF’s Inaugural Latino Advocacy Week Kicks Off March 15
Initiative Helps Latinos Become Advocates and Flex their Power
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Hispanic Access Foundation’s first-ever Latino Advocacy Week begins March 15 and runs through March 19. During this week, Latino communities, organizations, families and individuals will be supported with virtual workshops and webinars to support their growth as community advocates, leading for themselves and their communities.
HLN Member Hosts Financial Training for New Pastors in Texas
A high percentage of Latino pastors in the United States don’t receive a ton of training or preparation when it comes to their ministry. Pastor Fabio Sosa, Hispanic Leadership Network member and a leader in the Reformed Church in Texas, is taking a step to change that by providing financial training to new pastors in Texas.
This past Fall, Pastor Sosa was one of the HLN pastors who received financial administration training from Thrivent Financial. During the session, HLN members were shown the importance of financial education and provided with tools and resources to become a better manager of their financial resources. They learned how to increase their income, reduce expenses, recognize money leaks and the power of compound interest.
“The training helped me better understand financial resources and how to use those resources to my advantage in terms of saving, investing, and managing and administering my family's finances,” said Pastor Sosa.
After the financial session, Pastor Sosa was inspired to host his own financial training with Thrivent for his community. This winter, he invited a group of pastors he oversees in Texas to receive the same training.
“I wanted to share this newfound knowledge with my community and network of leaders because I believe it can really make a difference in the life of a person, a leader, or a Pastor,” said Pastor Sosa. “I think it can have an impact on any leader who has the humility to learn, receive and apply these concepts to improve themselves and learn more about having and managing better your finances.”
Since joining HLN, Pastor Sosa has received and participated in numerous vital trainings and workshops, such as crisis response training, mental health and personal well-being, financial education and civic engagement.
“I am very moved by all the work that HLN does in the context of Hispanic Ministry in the United States,” said Pastor Sosa. “ These training sessions provided by HLN are very relevant for pastors and leaders. I believe that any Pastor who takes advantage of the program will have a before and after in his ministry.”
The Power of Latino Advocacy
As we approach the first-ever Latino Advocacy Week in mid-March, the HAF conservation team wanted to share why we think Latino advocacy is so needed and why it has great potential to change lives for the better and increase equity in our communities.
Latinos are a growing segment of the U.S. population, and an increasingly active one. Every 30 seconds a Latino citizen turns 18, and as of 2020, 32 million Hispanics are
registered to vote. Latino voter turnout in 2020’s battleground states was three times greater than in 2016, and Hispanic turnout broke records in Georgia’s runoff election in January 2021.
On the other hand, Latinos only make up 1% of elected officials, while comprising 18% of the U.S. population. Imagine what Latinos could do for the well-being of our communities if we had 18x the number of elected officials representing us! Running for office is an under-appreciated, but hugely impactful, way for one person to make a difference in people’s lives and on the issues you care about.
Latinos represent the largest untapped segment of the population when it comes to civic engagement and political potential. However, there are significant barriers that hinder Latinos’ participation in America’s democratic processes, including barriers of education and access. The intention of Latino Advocacy Week is to bridge that gap by providing the resources, training, and access to decision-makers that our communities need to learn how to advocate for themselves and their community.
To give an example of the potential, in the 2010s, HAF was new to the conservation space. It only took a short period of time (1-2 years, relatively quick in the policy world!) for us to begin adding a series of concrete policy accomplishments to our name, thanks to our organizing and advocacy efforts. Thanks to our work with the religious leaders of Por La Creación, HAF was able to protect new areas of land and increase park and nature access to the Latino community in several states.
Through holding events in the outdoors, writing letters to Congress, speaking at public meetings, engaging the media, and connecting our PLC leaders directly with elected officials and the White House, several National Monuments were created: the San Gabriel Mountains, Brown’s Canyon, Sand to Snow, Castle Rock, and Mojave Trails, and Boulder White Clouds. Through these campaigns, our leaders were able to meet President Obama in the White House and be present when he signed Monuments into existence.
During the Trump Administration, our leaders continued to engage, fighting rollbacks to pollution regulations and removal of land protections. We also campaigned to support the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which funds parks, trails, sports fields, and swimming pools in every county of the US. LWCF was finally fully and permanently funded with the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act in summer 2020. Some campaigns take a long time to build to success, but are worth the fight.
We want to emphasize that Latino Advocacy Week is not just about conservation. We hope our community will raise their voices to advocate for lo que sea - whatever is most important to you. That might be healthcare, poverty, workers’ rights, immigration, policing reform, or anything else. Our potential is enormous–let’s go make a difference. Si se puede!
Shanna
Being involved in advocacy is simultaneously maddening, rewarding, frustrating, and joyful. It feels like trying to move a boulder the size of a house with your bare hands. But when you have thousands of hands beside you - and when the boulder finally starts rolling - it feels so good to know you were a part of it. That you had a hand in helping people.
Climate change and environmental problems can feel so huge. People always ask, “What can I do?” And advocacy is the answer - that’s one way to have an outsize impact as just one person.
Brenda
Being involved in advocacy is a powerful and important catalyst for the change we want to see. Being an advocate can have far-reaching positive impacts in our communities by providing policymakers with our needs. We are the ones who know exactly what needs to change - advocating at every level will ensure the future of the next generation.
Collectively our voices, our presence, our actions hold the power to see change in our communities. Advocacy is empowerment.
Jessica
Change, real lasting and progressive change, in a democracy comes from the collective power of the people advocating for the issues and solutions they care about on every level. Being involved in advocacy is crucial to change and it is rarely successful by the hand of any one individual - but when combined with many others’ voices, carries significant weight in the decision-making process.
Every 30 seconds in the US, a Latino turns 18 and becomes eligible to vote. That’s a whole lot of voting power, if you ask me.
MEDIUM: Latinos envision a way forward on climate, environment
As the Biden Administration has begun to take ambitious action on environmental protection and climate justice, new polling from Colorado College’s 11th annual State of the Rockies Project Conservation in the West Poll has shown that Latinos and other people of color throughout the West widely support these measures and beyond. The poll, released in early February, showed a marked increase for Latino voters in levels of support for conservation and climate action, with voters in the Mountain West calling for bold action to protect nature as a new administration and Congress consider their environmental agendas.
REDLANDS COMMUNITY NEWS: Latinos struggle to get pandemic relief
I have been a successful, self-employed business owner for 12 years, but the pandemic brought challenges like never before. My business, Bethel Estate Sales, was shut down during three months of lockdown in the spring of 2020, but it wasn’t until now that I had to suggest my employees go on unemployment. I wasn’t able to access the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), intended as pandemic relief for small businesses, because of restrictions on contracted staff, and my financial cushion finally ran out.
CALLER TIMES: Hispanic climate advocates looking to protect the ocean
Growing up Latina, in a borderland city 12 hours away from the water, the ocean became my annual sanctuary. Every year, my family took a vacation to the Texas Gulf Coast blasting Selena albums on our way to Corpus Christi or South Padre Island. I remember making sandcastles, searching for seashells, reading a book, and just enjoying the view of the water.
Over the years, there was a noticeable increase in trash, less seashells, and more pollution in the beaches. I slowly started to feel out of place, uncomfortable, and concerned about the area’s health. Being deprived of a clean, healthy ocean, especially during the pandemic, has been a challenge, for myself and underserved communities throughout Texas.
President Biden’s recent executive orders had several ocean protection provisions, including addressing the climate crisis, reducing pollution and protecting 30 percent of America’s oceans by 2030. Latinos across the U.S. have deep connections to the ocean, and Hispanic Access Foundation supports fostering those connections with the policies in the executive order. They will preserve the ecosystems on which we depend, provide safe havens to help wildlife adapt to climate change, and sustain natural systems that store carbon.
Over the summer, HAF published "Nuestro Océano y la Costa: Latino Connections to the Ocean and Coast" to demonstrate the depth of Latino involvement in the ocean and coast: the economy, recreation, and Latino cultural heritage. We did this to illustrate the stake Latinos have in ocean health, especially when it comes to threats from pollution, acidification, sea-level rise, and a worsening hurricane season.
Our report looked at polling across the United States, and found Latinos are more worried about climate change than other demographics. They are also more concerned about pollution, and support reducing it. Latinos are more likely to find the ocean important to their emotional well-being, and 73 percent agree ocean health is essential to human survival. Lastly, both inland and coastal Latinos love all forms of water recreation.
Texas, the state with the second-most Latino population, is the largest contributor to the U.S. marine economy by GDP. Texas’s activity in the Gulf Coast accounts for 23 percent of U.S marine goods and services, from fisheries, commerce, recreation and tourism. But climate change has destroyed habitats associated with the livelihoods we earn from our ocean, as well as our quality of life and safety.
Not only is the ocean’s health important to Latinos, but we are keenly aware that threats to the ocean represent threats to our communities.
Our research found almost a quarter of coastal residents are Latino. Unfortunately, due to economic instability, lower access to healthcare, home insurance, and emergency response messaging, Latinos are especially vulnerable to hazards like sea level rise, storms, and flooding. Damaged ocean habitats mean damaged fisheries and reduced tourism, leading to job loss, especially for Latinos who make up a large portion of the hospitality and marine construction industries. Beach and fishery closures also disproportionately cause health problems to Latino populations, since they are less likely to be aware of advisories, and may rely on fishing for food security.
The physical health risks are only one a part of overall well-being. As has been driven home during the pandemic, the ability to get outside and enjoy nature is necessary for physical and mental health, while on the other hand, natural disasters and climate risks can cause depression, anxiety, and PTSD. This is important because Latino communities and other communities of color across the country are facing a Nature Gap – meaning they have less access to beaches and natural areas. According to the report from Hispanic Access Foundation and the Center for American Progress, 67 percent of Latinos live in “nature deprived” areas, with limited access to the outdoors. To undo the Nature Gap’s harm, we must create new protected areas and restore degraded lands and waters.
For all these reasons – access, health, recreation, pandemic relief, jobs, disaster resilience, and spirituality, Latinos care about the ocean. It is important for Texan and national policymakers to support ocean, coastal, and watershed-wide conservation efforts that impact Latino communities.
The Biden administration’s executive orders will help mitigate climate change, sustainably manage fisheries, improve coastal resilience, and move toward protecting 30 percent of the ocean by 2030. These policies get at the heart of forming a clean, healthy, and protected ocean. By supporting the executive orders, Latinos are raising their voices to protect the ocean we love, and also protecting our homes, health, family memories, and livelihoods. These policies create a future where more Latinos can relax and spend time with their families on the beach, without the growing concern for the ocean’s future.
By Brenda Gallegos in the Caller Times
HAF Launches Ad Campaign in Support of President Biden’s Executive Orders on the Environment, Oil and Gas Drilling
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Starting this week, Hispanic Access Foundation is launching an online ad campaign celebrating President Biden’s recent executive actions on the environment and oil and gas drilling, and celebrating his effort to protect the environment and Latino’s health – and urging him to keep fighting for climate justice.
Make a Difference this Valentine’s Day – Gift Sustainably
Valentine’s Day offers a sweet excuse to share chocolates, gifts, and express your love to your friends, family or your significant other. While you may want to shower them with love and gifts, it turns out it could be contributing to our carbon footprint. Valentine’s Day produces an increasingly large amount of plastic laminated cards with glitter, discarded roses, candy wrappers, and stuffed animals that eventually end up in the landfill. This doesn’t mean you shouldn't celebrate the fun, special day, but why not try to make it as eco-friendly and environmentally aware as possible.
HAF Celebrates Secretarial Order to Strengthen LWCF
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Interior Department issued a Secretarial Order 3396 on the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which reversed the previous administration’s policies meant to undermine the landmark conservation program that continues to bring park access to Latino communities. In response to the order, Hispanic Access Foundation’s President and CEO Maite Arce released the following statement:
“The full, widespread impact LWCF has made on our communities all across this nation could never truly be measured or put into words. From the smallest to the largest of Latino communities, LWCF has been critical in providing all our nation’s diverse communities with what is often their main or only means to experience the outdoors. Whether it’s a local sports field, a community swimming pool or providing new trails, LWCF’s reach into our cities and towns is vital to the health and well-being of millions of Americans nationwide.
“Its 56-year proven track record as America’s most important and successful conservation and outdoor recreation program has benefited communities in every state and county. LWCF’s impact is essential to closing the Nature Gap -- the lack of parks, nature and green space within communities of color and low-income communities. The Nature Gap has left a legacy of poorer health and COVID-19 severity, higher stress levels, worse educational outcomes, lack of recreation and business opportunities and greater vulnerability to extreme heat and flooding in these nature-deprived neighborhoods.
“The Land and Water Conservation Fund will also be critical to meeting President Biden’s ambitious 30x30 conservation goals and ensuring communities have the resources they need to conserve land, create parks and trails, and expand recreation access.”
HAF has focused on the reauthorization and funding of LWCF over the past several years. In 2018, HAF released the short film “Land, Water y Comunidad,” which explores the relationship Latinos across the nation have with Land and Water Conservation Fund sites – what it means to them, how they enjoy them and the impact it would have if these lands weren’t available. Additionally, HAF has helped provide hundreds of Latino community leaders with access to their elected officials both in Washington and in their home state.