By Grace Hut, Assistant Director, Policy and Advocacy
April 21, 2026
Earlier this month, members of SAJE’s Climate and Built Environment Team had the opportunity to tour Greenhouse South LA with L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell (SD 2). The Greenhouse is a 100-year old, fully electrified family home in South Central Los Angeles that serves as a community hub for clean energy education and youth workforce development. During our visit, we were able to enjoy the kind of housing we advocate for through our decarbonization campaign: healthy, electrified homes free of indoor pollutants where residents can experience cost savings from efficient appliances.
We began the tour in the living room, where founders Wendy Salvador and Ken Galbraith talked about the importance of home electrification for communities like South L.A. Gas appliances release harmful pollutants like nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide into homes, which can lead to chronic health conditions such as asthma. South L.A. residents are also disproportionately exposed to outdoor pollution from industrial sites, freeways, freight routes, and oil refineries, making it even more critical that residents have access to pollution-free indoor spaces. In the Greenhouse, every appliance (think stove, water heater, washer, and dryer) runs on electricity rather than gas. The house also features a highly efficient and electric heat pump air window unit, which can both heat and cool the space to improve indoor thermal comfort.
As cool—figuratively and literally—as the electrified house was, the real stars of the show were the youth advocates who helped give the tour and later presented their advocacy efforts to Supervisor Mitchell. Greenhouse South L.A. is an incubator for youth campaigns focused on shutting down oil drilling operations and strengthening appliance standards through the South Coast Air Quality Management District, of which Supervisor Mitchell is a board member. The tour also made a stop at the Greenhouse’s youth workforce development space—a repurposed garage where South L.A. youth are taught how to use tools and install electric appliances, preparing them for careers in the green economy.
The folks at the Greenhouse and at SAJE agree: we must work to ensure that frontline communities that experience the impacts of the climate crisis and environmental injustices “first and worst” don’t get excluded from the clean energy transition. At SAJE, we are particularly focused on prioritizing and protecting low-income tenants in this transition. We want our community members to experience the health and economic benefits of energy efficiency and electrification upgrades in their homes without the risk of rent-increases or displacement linked to upgrades. That’s why we advocated for—and won—a prohibition on evictions for renovation work in 2025.
To learn more about the equitable building decarbonization work we are doing with our labor, environmental justice, and affordable housing partners, check out and stay connected to the Los Angeles for Resilient and Healthy Homes Coalition.
