SAN DIEGO — $22 million dollars in grant funding is coming to some of San Diego’s historic barrio neighborhoods. CBS 8 has learned how the money will be spent to improve the quality of life for people in these communities.
“Really great, a sign of what can happen when a community gets to be involved with what’s going on in their neighborhood,” said José Franco García, Executive Director of the Environmental Health Coalition.
A coalition of community stakeholders, namely the Environmental Health Coalition and San Diego Foundation, applied for the Transformative Climate Communities state grant, and they’ve been awarded $22 million dollars.
“The neighborhoods that have been most impacted from industrial pollution, from contamination, from limited green space, from years of pollution and contamination affecting people’s health and asthma,” said García.
The grant money will be leveraged with another $26 million in matching funds from various sources to invest a total of $46 million in neighborhoods like Barrio Logan, Stockton, Grant Hill, Mt. Hope, Sherman Heights, Southcrest, and Shelltown.
“It’s not just the freeways, it’s not just the pollution coming from the Port of San Diego, it’s not just the housing stock. It’s all of those together, these cumulative impacts,” said García while explaining the need for investment in the chosen communities.
The Holistic Healthy Homes Program is one way some of the grant money will be spent to improve the quality of life for community members.
“Man, don’t make me get all emotional about this,” said Clovis Honeré, senior outreach coordinator for GRID Alternatives San Diego, a nonprofit focused on solar panel installations.
“We want to make sure you have air filters if you live in a neighborhood that has pollution problems. We want to make sure you have carbon monoxide monitors,” said Honeré. “We’re going to put a solar system on your home and if your roof is not ready for a solar system, we’re going to give you a new roof so you can have a solar system. If your electrical panel is not upgraded, we’re going to do that too.”
The grant application process took several years, numerous community workshops, and plenty of collaboration from community organizations.
“There’s so many residents who live around this community, who live in Barrio Logan and throughout the surrounding neighborhoods, who are invested in what’s going on in their community,” said García. “They’re fighting to improve and we’re fighting to help make it better.”
The list of proposed projects includes:
- Tierras Indigenas Community Land Trust, a nonprofit working to purchase land in the Historic Barrios to ensure the housing and buildings built will remain affordable and community-owned for future generations.
- Holistic Healthy Homes Program, through a coalition of six community-based organizations, will improve indoor air quality in 25 homes through a “healthy homes make-over” that will include indoor electric and air quality upgrades, water-tolerant xeriscaping and other home repairs.
- Trolley and Bus Stop Improvements through San Diego Metropolitan Transit System will upgrade key transit centers and bus stops to make public transit in the area easier, safer and more convenient.
- Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center solar panel installation to reduce harmful carbon emissions while providing clean, renewable energy for the center that provides families a space to gather, study and celebrate Chicano culture, and find respite from hot temperatures, air toxicity, rolling blackouts and power outages.
- Via Verde Free Electric Shuttle to provide free, bilingual, on-demand electric vehicle shuttle service that will safely and efficiently provide door-to-destination transportation in Barrio/Logan Heights.
- Project New Village Community Gardens and Resource Center will include a 12,000-square-foot food center to support community-led food production, aggregation and distribution.
- Boston Avenue Park will be located along Boston Avenue and serve as a buffer between the I-5 freeway and the residential neighborhood, with 8-foot-high, vine-covered walls; two playgrounds; an off-leash dog park; pedestrian walkways; community art spaces and a bike path that will connect to the Chollas Creek bikeway.
- Plant 700+ Trees through the City of San Diego in empty right-of-way locations in the project area to improve air quality, increase shade, decrease temperature and beautify public spaces.
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