Bringing Resilience Home: Extreme Heat Event

Tucked between the wealth of Atherton and Menlo Park, North Fair Oaks is home to 15,000 residents — larger than some cities in San Mateo County, yet without a mayor, city council, or municipal government. Instead, North Fair Oaks is an unincorporated area under the jurisdiction of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. Its history of segregation and neglect is not just a story of the past — it shapes how the community experiences crises today. 

Extreme heat is a growing concern across the globe. Beyond its detrimental agricultural impacts, it puts millions of people at risk of heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and even death. Unfortunately, these events disproportionately impact communities like North Fair Oaks. Stanford Climate & Health, a student and faculty group dedicated to tackling both the health effects of climate change and the healthcare sector’s impact on the climate, wanted to take action, bringing resources and support beyond campus to a community struggling with extreme heat and limited means to tackle these problems.

The key to any project like this is not just acknowledging the problem, but understanding it—the deeper dynamics, internal challenges, and community-specific strengths. In close collaboration with Kamille Lang and Climate Resilient Communities (CRC), an organization working throughout the Bay Area on resilient homes, education, and adaptation, we gained insight into North Fair Oaks’ unique needs. The community is predominantly Spanish-speaking, with many monolingual residents and low literacy rates. These factors directly shaped how we designed and delivered our project, prioritizing visual communication and Spanish-language materials. Because many community members cannot leave their homes during heat events for various reasons, creating a centralized cooling hub was not a viable solution. Instead, we decided to bring the resilience hub to their homes, and make home a refuge by providing the necessary tools and resources.

In the spring, my co-director Riya Bhatia and I attended a Climate Change Community Teams (CCCTs) workshop hosted by CRC. There, we presented the idea of an extreme heat resilience kit distribution event and, most importantly, listened to community feedback. Rather than making it a “Stanford’s project,” we made it theirs—a project tailored to their needs. Community feedback was essential, directly shaping the design of the kits and ensuring they met real needs. We heard from residents that they wanted opportunities to speak directly with a physician, as many likely had underlying health concerns, specific medical questions, or had not discussed these issues with their regular doctors. Suggestions like manual fans and power banks also became central components.

Throughout the spring and early summer, Stanford Climate & Health worked to gather resources: handheld fans, power banks, medicine cooling pouches, and more. With funding from the Haas Center and Stanford Medicine, support from the Center for Human and Planetary Health, and donations of visors and bags from Stanford Athletics, the event was a success. The workshop began with a disaster preparedness demonstration by the San Mateo Emergency Department, followed by a presentation on the health impacts of heat events by Dr. Lisa Patel and Dr. Desiree LaBeaud. The community was eager to ask questions, engage with the doctors, and share their own experiences. Volunteers from Stanford, working alongside CRC, helped distribute resources to over sixty residents of North Fair Oaks, equipping the community with tools to stay safe during extreme heat. 

Above all, our impact doesn’t end here. Stanford Climate & Health is committed to building a long-lasting relationship with this remarkable community. The resilience, pride, and vibrance of North Fair Oaks have inspired our club in countless ways. We hope to expand these projects to other Bay Area communities in the coming years, knowing that the lessons we will learn are invaluable. Thanks to CRC and Kamille Lang, this project was possible, and we gained invaluable insight from how they organize, communicate, and build relationships with communities.

Video Link: https://youtu.be/6JKVN3N1NNw?si=O2ChLA35PITVDoWC