Gulf Region's Latino Resilience Hub: Strength through community

The Latino Resilience Hub at Alianza Center was a critical lifeline for Hispanic communities devastated by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Led by Gulf Coast Region manager Eliseo Santana, the Hub directly addresses unique barriers that prevent many Latino families from accessing traditional disaster assistance, including language differences and uncertainty about eligibility for government aid. Through trusted community connections, the Hub delivers essential supplies, warm meals, and practical support where it’s needed most.

The Hub has distributed hot meals to displaced families and provided innovative solutions like solar-powered phone chargers, enabling disaster survivors to stay connected with loved ones and complete FEMA applications. From diaper distributions that allow families to redirect limited resources toward other pressing needs, the Latino Resilience Hub embodies its commitment to community-centered disaster recovery that builds lasting strength and self-sufficiency.

Latinos arriving in this country are lost and carrying the weight of an abrupt change, and it is imperative that efficient ways be created to connect with the people and resources that can facilitate such a transition

— Candice Mercado, community member

Resilience is a way of life for our Frontline Communities

Our resilience work falls under our three-pronged Climate and Clean Energy program:

  1. Resilience: empowering our community to overcome crises big and small 
  2. Climate and Clean Energy, how we talk about and challenge our community to change their personal habits to reduce our carbon footprint and address our personal roles in global warming by promoting clean energy and lowering our energy consumption which reduces our bills.
  3. Building Pipelines: to education, jobs and entrepreneurship in the emerging green economy. 

Resilience for us did not end with Hurricane Maria. Our frontline communities face crises daily. Alianza’s model is rooted in strengthening our community and leadership from within, focusing on mutual aid, education, and self-actualization. To that end we organize and train volunteers, hold community fairs, COVID response, vaccination drives, participate in food pantries, hurricane aid drives, school supply donation events, and disaster resilience workshops.

Empowering our people to come together to manage the small crises that are faced every day is the best way to build the leadership and community know-how to manage larger scale crises, such as the increasing damage of weather-related events.

You can help us chart the Path to a Resilient Future

Your support, large or small, can make a meaningful difference! Your contribution will help us build our local resilience hub, and provide a much needed storage facility. It will also allow us to provide critical education and training to our volunteers and community members. Finally, your financial support will help us build and keep our Resilience Hubs Network, interconnected, providing resources and support to communities in dire need across our region.

Your support can make a meaningful difference! Your contribution will help us build our local resilience hub, and provide a much-needed storage facility. It will also allow us to provide critical education and training to our volunteers and community members. Finally, your financial support will help us build and keep our Resilience Hubs Network, interconnected, providing resources and support to communities in dire need across our region.

Join our cause: Every contribution builds strength and resilience in our community

The resilience of a community depends on galvanizing the collective strength and knowledge of its people. That’s where you come in. Your donation, your volunteer hours, your knowledge shared, can all help us come up with solutions that save lives and create more effective and sustainable recovery and reconstruction.
Our communities face small and mid-size crises every day. These moments, though challenging, provide us with the experience and knowledge to prepare for larger-scale disasters. Our HUB Network is designed to address these daily challenges, build resilience daily, and cultivate a preparedness that becomes an integral part of our community’s DNA. We hope we never have to face large-scale crises, but if we do, our experience and preparation will allow us to survive and recover sooner.
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Your contribution to Alianza Center is tax-deductible.

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