By Lily Morse, Communications Intern
July 9, 2025
St. John’s Community Health in South L.A. is building a Community Resilience Center (CRC) adjacent to its Avalon Health Center. The CRC will provide a safe space for community members to gather, access resources, and organize during climate and public health emergencies like heat waves, wildfires, and earthquakes. It will be integrated with the health and social services currently provided at the Avalon Health Center.
This center is a response to climate disasters impacting L.A. over the past decade, including the massive wildfires that ravaged the city in January. Due to redlining and other racist land-use policies, South L.A. is disproportionately impacted by the negative effects of climate change, with increased pollution due to its proximity to freeways, industry, hazardous waste sites, and urban oil drilling. And, due to the lack of public green space and trees, South L.A. is especially vulnerable to extreme heat events brought on by global warming.
During disasters, the CRC will provide shelter, sleeping areas, indoor and outdoor cooling spaces, bathrooms and showers, lockers and storage, facilities for washing clothes, a pet shelter, and a large kitchen and food storage area. It will feature an energy-efficient power system (solar panels, batteries, and backup generator) and water collection system (grey water recycling and rain capture). It also will host a community garden, climate preparedness classes, and workforce training. Multipurpose features—such as covered parking zones for cars that can double as cooling areas with water misters—will serve the community day to day and during emergencies.
In June, St. John’s held three forums for South L.A. residents to learn about the project, ask questions, and provide feedback on what services would benefit them most. SAJE staff attended the session on June 18. The room was packed with community members of all ages—from parents with their toddlers to seniors. Attendees expressed the concerns they had and gave suggestions for how the CRC might best serve them before, after, and during a climate disaster. Suggestions included planting native plants in the community garden and skills development classes on personal finance, technology, and first aid.
After the CRC design is finalized, project permits will need to be approved by the city. Following approval, construction will begin and is expected to take approximately 30 months. SAJE is excited to see this investment in climate preparedness and resilience for the South L.A. community.
Stay updated on the project here.
