I’ve had too many close calls with increased tornado activity here in Louisville, KY, and the summer heat seems more unbearable each year. After a winter that brought terrible storms, I’m bracing for “Danger Season,”—the period between May and October when North America experiences its worst climate impacts. It seems to be starting earlier and lasting longer.
Danger Season 2025 may bring even more extreme impacts as the climate crisis intensifies—this information makes me fear for the safety of my family and my loved ones. I allow myself to feel fear and grieve for what is lost. I think of the words in Frank Herbert’s Dune:
“Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me.”
This helps me remember that I won’t allow fear to keep me from finding courage and fighting for a safer world—for my son, for my community, for all of us.
When climate change comes knocking at our door, we need to be prepared. That is why we must tackle the climate crisis and the affordable housing crisis at the same time.
Home looks different for all of us, and because of that we must pursue equitable solutions to make people safer where they live.
From flooded trailers in KY
…to fallen trees in South Carolina when Hurricane Helene cut an 800 mile path across the southeast…
and mobile homes destroyed by hurricanes.
When the lack of air conditioning behind prison doors makes extreme heat a death sentence,
and when people who are experiencing homelessness must find relief where they can when a heat dome encompasses Portland.
When the sea has forced its way right through the doors of Summer Haven homes,
and when fire consumes everything that a family has worked for.
When families must pack up what they can and evacuate,
and renters and public housing are hit particularly hard…
even if we’re safe in our doorway, we won’t thrive if our community is not prepared
…because we can’t do this alone.
“The measure of whether or not a community is resilient is how it protects people from the inevitable.” –Andreanecia Morris, Executive Director for Housing NOLA
Climate-driven risk will make the ongoing housing crisis worse and would have disproportionate impacts on low-income families and communities of color, including people who are incarcerated or experiencing homelessness.
Right now, we need elected officials and government agencies from the local to the federal level doing everything possible to ensure people have safe, affordable, climate-resilient housing and resources to recover from disasters. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is an essential agency for meeting our housing needs, yet Elon Musk is attempting to cut staff and render HUD inoperable in his illegal grab for power.
Thankfully, he’s facing pushback. The Government Accountability Office has committed to investigating the impact on fair housing enforcement in response to a petition led by Senator Elizabeth Warren, Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. We’ll need sustained action to keep Elon’s hands off HUD and to invest in affordable, climate-safe housing nationwide.
Call your Senators today and tell them to keep Elon’s hands off HUD and to invest in affordable, climate-safe housing.
For talking points, refer to this national letter signed by UCS and housing justice organizations.