Why listening is an essential tool for change
PCJ in the Bay Fellow Stories: Dae Apineru
The most important conversations about climate resilience don’t happen in classrooms; they take place in community centers and people’s homes. This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to learn from heroes in their respective communities.
I spent the past few months as a Partnerships for Climate Justice in the Bay Area Fellow with Climate Resilient Communities (CRC), an organization dedicated to uplifting underserved communities as they face the impacts of climate change. While my role included working on various initiatives, I mainly worked with their Resilient Homes program, where I saw firsthand the need to build climate resiliency from the ground up, starting in our own communities.
The challenges were visible and urgent, yet there was still a barrier keeping many from being adequately prepared. With California moving decisively toward zero-emission homes, many families in communities like East Palo Alto, North Fair Oaks, and Menlo Park face an intimidating barrier: cost. The Resilient Homes program directly addresses this inequity by providing free health, safety, and energy upgrades, from installing heat pumps to improving insulation.
The Resilient Homes program, alongside Peninsula Clean Energy’s (PCE) Homes Upgrade program, is committed to making climate adaptation accessible to those most disproportionately affected. As an intern, I prioritized listening and learning.
A significant part of my work involved canvassing, going door-to-door with my supervisor and fellow interns to talk directly with residents. We weren't just distributing flyers; we were starting conversations. I’ll admit that there were moments of intimidation: times when the sun was relentless or a door was closed with skepticism. But those moments were far outweighed by the overwhelming warmth and engagement we received. We had many positive interactions with community members who were ecstatic to find out about CRC’s and PCE’s initiatives to provide free home upgrades to those who qualify.
I remember one session in particular: in just two hours, we spoke with over 110 people and the energy was vivid. People weren’t turning us away. We were met with immediate, relatable concerns.
"The air condition in my home is affecting my son’s health," one person shared.
"My bill is so high I have to choose between cooling and groceries," said another.
Seeing several families sign up for free home evaluations on the spot was a powerful reminder that when you offer a real, accessible solution, the community will meet you more than halfway. It made me happy to be able to pass on resources to community members.
But the work didn’t stop at the doorstep. The second critical part of my role was to ensure the program itself was listening. The Resilient Homes program needed to track customers' experiences and gain feedback on how it could improve. To do this, I took on the task of creating a comprehensive follow-up survey for residents who had received upgrades.
This was a more complex challenge than I initially anticipated. How do you craft questions that not only measure the quantifiable impact, like energy savings, but also capture the qualitative, life-changing differences? How do you create a survey that celebrates the program’s successes while also creating a safe space for honest criticism? I struggled at first to find that balance. Through collaborative brainstorming and several drafts with my supervisor, we developed a survey designed to do both: to document the positive outcomes and to pinpoint necessary changes.
This survey will now be a vital tool, ensuring the program evolves in direct response to the community’s voice. My work was a cycle of communication and adaptation. It wasn’t a one-time installation of appliances but an ongoing relationship built on trust. I truly value CRC’s approach to their work as they not only help their community but are heavily involved, making sure that the community puts faces to names and vice versa.
Looking back, my summer with Climate Resilient Communities’ Resilient Homes program fundamentally reshaped my understanding of environmental work. I saw that the fight against climate change is fought not only with policy and technology but with empathy and direct involvement. The most critical infrastructure we can build is made of trust. It’s built in the patience to explain a program on a hot afternoon, in validating customers’ experiences, and in the radical, powerful act of listening.
This experience has cemented my commitment to a career at the intersection of sustainability and social equity. I am moving forward with the conviction that effective solutions are co-created with the communities they are designed to serve. The blueprint for a resilient future is being drawn in conversations in people’s living rooms and front porches, and I am dedicated to ensuring those voices are always heard.
Dae Apineru is a junior studying earth systems and comparative studies of race and ethnicity. He is passionate about environmental equity and Indigenous land and water rights. In the summer of 2025, he was a Partnerships for Climate Justice in the Bay Area (PCJ in the Bay) Fellow with Climate Resilient Communities, serving marginalized communities through their Resilient Homes Program.
