Through the Equitable Resilience Program with EPA, SMM is working with 15 communities across the south and southwest. New Orleans is unique, resilient and endlessly creative. It is also incredibly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change: situated below sea level, prone to hurricanes and threatened by a patchwork of dangerous heat islands.  Integrating resilience into one of New Orleans’ most historically disadvantaged neighborhoods, the Upper Ninth Ward, by creating a space for education, culture, green initiatives, power generation and equitable disaster relief is critical to navigating climate change and building a future for the city that includes all New Orleanians.

New Orleans ranks among the top 10 cities in the U.S. for power outages since reliability tracking began. Following Hurricane Ida in 2021, nearly one million people in greater New Orleans lost power; some residents in the Ninth Ward remained in the dark more than three weeks later. Nineteen New Orleans residents died from excessive heat, lack of oxygen, or carbon monoxide poisoning directly caused by the prolonged power outage.

Stay Ready NOLA and their partners envision a future for the St. Claude and Upper Ninth Ward communities that is more resilient, sustainable and equitable. At its core, the project seeks to weave resilience into the very fabric of the community. It's about empowering the neighborhood to withstand and recover from future crises.

Through its resilience hub, the project will serve multiple purposes: providing sustainable energy solutions, supporting emergency preparedness and response, and safeguarding the most vulnerable community members by ensuring access to critical support and resources during times of crisis and extreme weather events. It will also provide crucial space for educational initiatives, job training, and more. Two Community Solar Generating Facilities will produce clean, renewable solar energy, reducing the energy burden for approximately 5,000 low-income residents by reducing their electric bills by 20% or more.