By Cynthia Rodriguez, Red Cross Communications Volunteer
How are we helping communities in disaster-prone areas become more resilient? By partnering with mission-driven people like Aide Hernandez through our local Community Adaptation Program (CAP).
For Aide, her deep commitment to her community is personal. Born and raised in Poplar, Tulare County, Aide is no stranger to extreme weather and its life-altering effects on communities. Her family’s home was impacted by severe flooding in 2023, and they sought services from the Central Valley Empowerment Alliance (CVEA).
As the sole provider for her family, Aide worked as a certified nursing assistant, caring for patients with dementia. After the floods, she was inspired to serve her community as an advocate, leading her to take on the role of Rural Health and Community Development Organizer for the organization.
CVEA, a local nonprofit in Tulare County, aims to address economic and educational inequity, advocate for affordable housing and empower underserved communities in the Central Valley.
Through Aide’s tireless efforts, she coordinates volunteers to organize food and resources at local food distributions, supporting 200+ families each month, and the need continues to grow.
Through the American Red Cross Community Adaptation Program, CVEA has been able to expand their services to support farmworker families during critical times. Throughout the last year, Aide has worked alongside our CAP Team to:
- Deliver perishable food and cold water to rural communities, through a donation of a 16-ton reefer truck, pallet jack and generator.
- Create event opportunities for our teams to provide educational outreach materials to farmworkers.
- Learn CPR, First Aid and AED training to be ready in case an emergency arises.
A particularly special moment was when Red Cross volunteers distributed “Extreme Heat Emergency Kits” to her community at the Tierra Mia Festival last summer. Aide shared that seeing the farmworkers have resources to take care of themselves in extreme heat really moved her, and she felt grateful for her community members to be seen and helped in this way. She credits the Red Cross for seeing the need and meeting it with essential items like sunscreen, electrolyte powder, sombreros, bandanas, cooling towels, hand fans, and first aid kits.
Through these efforts and more, the program is addressing immediate needs and laying the foundation for long-term safety and health in some of the most vulnerable rural areas. “CAP is bringing non-profits together and being able to help rural communities and show up in ways that draw bigger impact because of the team’s goal to help,” shared Aide.
Aide finds her inspiration from a calling to serve. “It is about community coming together to make people’s lives better.” She encourages people to get involved in their community out of the kindness of their own hearts.
As extreme weather events become more frequent and intense, our teams are tirelessly responding and delivering critical aid to those affected. By partnering with grassroots organizations like CVEA, we can build resilience in high-risk disaster areas and support critical projects that increase access to nutritious food, medical care and affordable housing when it’s needed most.
Red Cross Central California Blog 