“The stakes couldn’t be higher,” says Magdalena Verdugo, CEO of the YWCA of Southern Arizona, of the need for reducing energy and water usage. “We are already seeing the impacts of higher temperatures from a warming planet. We need to start working as a community to begin the process of both mitigating the dangers of climate change and, even more importantly, building resilience. This is especially true for our underserved populations.”

   

Last year, the heat claimed 339 lives in Maricopa County alone, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

   

“The YWCA will strengthen our commitment to engage all of Tucson in taking the steps and making the commitment to protecting the planet, but also the people who live and work in our beautiful Sonoran Desert,” says Karen Peterson, T2030D chair. “Now in its 105th year of commitment to the health and well-being of women and their families in Southern Arizona, the YWCA will bring its tradition of community outreach and action to the T2030D’s work of reducing harmful environmental and atmospheric

   

Verdugo adds that the partnership with T2030D will “ensure energy equity in Tucson’s poorest neighborhoods. There are numerous programs and financial incentives for weatherizing homes and conserving water—both of which can also save money. One of our goals is to make sure that everyone knows what’s available to them, and that requires communication.”