Our hearts are with the people of Haiti, the Bahamas, Cuba, and Jamaica in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. We are grateful for organized disaster relief efforts, such as the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee’s much needed response. This is what love looks like in action.
Here is a quote from UUSC’s press release: “UUSC partners in Haiti have faced catastrophe before and are already nimbly responding. Local leaders are assessing damage, delivering food, and ensuring people have shelter and protection. Their deep community commitment and trust enable an agile response grounded in accountability.”
Organizations like GreenLatinos remind us that disasters like Hurricane Melissa, which we are now seeing annually, are not merely happenstance, but a result of our ongoing climate crisis. Embedded in this crisis is increased damage to already overburdened communities.
In addition to providing disaster relief, “GreenLatinos calls on lawmakers and elected leaders worldwide to unite and craft community-led policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, build resilience to extreme weather, and center leadership of frontline communities…. We urge bold investments in clean energy, climate adaptation, and equitable recovery efforts that protect the health, safety, and dignity of working-class, Latino, Black, and indigenous communities most impacted by the climate crisis.”
This integrated response of providing immediate aid and long-term climate-resilient reconstruction is what is needed to provide care in this moment and beyond. With love at the center, and in the spirit of transformative justice, may we be motivated to live our Shared UU Values generously in the world.
In Faith,
Rev. Lauren Spivey Levwood, Acting Director, UUMFE