Water is a human right and the foundation of good health and thriving communities. For the 30th annual observance of World Water Day, we developed this message guidance through conversations during the Caucus's February 2023 national call and the Climate Justice Working Group. Please use this messaging to uplift WECR perspectives and a shared voice for the human right to water.
Everyone should have safe and affordable water. Yet, across the United States, communities face mounting threats to their water security due to contamination, flooding, sea-level rise, and drought, leading to rising costs in water and wastewater service. No family in the U.S. should have to choose between paying for their water or paying for other essential needs, like food or heat. This fact sheet explains the U.S. water affordability crisis, the current state of federal action, and recommendations for a renewed national commitment to safe, affordable water.
In response to the passing of the IRA, we put together a short summary of how the compromises embedded in the bill reflect a national approach to climate policy that has long focused on incrementally reducing emissions without centering environmental and economic justice.
In the Bay Area, as elsewhere, the coronavirus and its economic fallout have disproportionately impacted the very same people that were on the economic margins before the pandemic, including Black, Latinx, and immigrant communities (especially undocumented workers), and low-wage workers. And they are about to face an additional threat: the risk of being evicted when they can’t pay rent because they’ve lost jobs and income because of the pandemic. Without long-term eviction protections, these renters are at risk of being caught in a coming wave of evictions which could force them out of their neighborhoods or even onto the street.
This fact sheet was created to inform regional and local eviction prevention efforts in the Bay Area. Key findings include:
See the accompanying analysis of eviction risk in the Bay Area, methodology, and Spanish version.
This fact sheet updates the eviction risk fact estimates we produced in 2020 for Contra Costa County (fact sheet and analysis), San Mateo County, Sonoma County, and California in partnership with the Raise the Roof Coalition, People’s Alliance of San Mateo County, North Bay Organizing Project, and Housing NOW!
Over one third of residents in the United States are renters, including the majority of Black and Latino residents. Many renters were already facing a crisis due to soaring rents before the pandemic, and they have been hit hard by the virus and its economic impacts. Without long-term eviction protections, these renters are at risk of being caught in a coming wave of evictions which could force them out of their neighborhoods or even onto the street. In partnership with Our Homes, Our Health, the National Equity Atlas team created a series of fact sheets to support their work across the country to advance policies that protect renters at risk of eviction during the Covid-19 emergency. Our Homes, Our Health is a collaborative initiative of the National Housing Justice Grassroots Table, including the Center for Popular Democracy, Partnership for Working Families, People’s Action, the Right to the City Alliance, and Alliance for Housing Justice.
You can download fact sheets for the following states: California, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Oregon, and Washington. Fact sheets for the following local geographies are also available for download: Bay Area, CA; Bedford County, TN, Contra Costa County, CA, San Mateo County, CA, and Sonoma County, CA. More fact sheets to come.
See the accompanying methodology for the state fact sheets. For the county fact sheets, please see the notes at the end of the individual fact sheets for a link to the methodology.
New Mexican families rely on steady paychecks for groceries, childcare, transportation, and housing costs — spending that goes back to the community. So when employers refuse to pay workers their earned wages, everyone suffers. The New Mexico Worker Organizing Collaborative (NMWOC) works to combat these employer thefts to ensure that workers have a fair shot at economic security. In partnership with NMWOC, the National Equity Atlas co-produced a fact sheet that leverages local and National Equity Atlas data to illuminate those who are disproportionately vulnerable to employer theft and the need for the state to better investigate and enforce wage theft claims. This community data tool will support NMWOC in their advocacy to protect workers and take back lost wages. Download Fair Labor Practices Benefit All New Mexicans.