Episode 4: Higher Ground

When communities face the aftermath of catastrophes, what does it take to ensure that the next time will be different? In Houston, it takes a city council member who bicycles in her neighborhood to hear from constituents about what they need most. It takes 12 moms who organize to take legal action against the landlords that have kept their families in moldy, substandard apartments. And it takes a city official who blows the whistle on corrupt and dangerous practices related to housing policy. Travel to Houston with our hosts Chrishelle Palay and Rose Arrieta to meet these changemakers in our final episode of this limited-run podcast. They witness people power in action, as author and artist adrienne maree brown describes it, “...bending the future, together, into something we have never experienced.” Featuring: Erika Bowman - Community organizer with Texas Housers Cashauna Hill - executive director of the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center Ariadna Godreau - founder and director of Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico Council Member Tarsha Jackson - Houston City Council member for District B Jaime - Mother in Houston Texas who is part of the 12 Moms campaign Zoe Middleton - Southeast Texas and Houston co-director for Texas Housers Also featured: Tom McCasland - Houston director of Housing and Community Development Sylvester Turner - Mayor of Houston Ms. Hankins - Resident of Houston giving testimony at public meeting Original music by Fernando Arruda But Next Time Per Pound Going Back Rumors of Hope Next Blues Native Step Let There Be Fire Different Next Time All tracks are available on the But Next Time Soundtrack album. https://fernandoarruda.bandcamp.com/album/but-next-time

No matter where we come from, or how much money we make, we all deserve a safe and healthy place to call home. In this episode we meet parents who are fighting to save their families’ homes despite a perfect storm of greedy landlords and hurricane-related flooding. Jaime, a mom who lives in subsidized housing in Houston Texas, joins with other moms to stand up to landlords and local officials whose policies and practices have kept working-class Black and Brown families trapped in moldy and unsafe homes for years. Before and after Hurricane Harvey, Jaime and organizers in Houston come together to take collective action and push for change. Along the way they connect with leaders in Puerto Rico who have also been resisting and re-building in the wake of ongoing disaster. We hear from renowned Puerto Rican activist and former political prisoner Oscar Lopez Rivera,Luis O. Gallardo Rivera, director of Centro para la Reconstrucción del Hábitat and Adriana Godreau, director of Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico, who along with our host Chrishelle Palay engage in on the ground work and advocacy in their communities, in the halls of Congress, and beyond. Whether they are educating their communities, building back power grids, or bringing their fight to the courtroom, these community leaders are working together to shape the healthier future we all deserve. Join us to hear their stories as they work tirelessly to ensure that next time will be different. Featuring: Jaime - Mother in Houston Texas who is part of the 12 Moms campaign Zoe Middleton - Southeast Texas and Houston co-director for Texas Housers Erika Bowman - Community organizer with Texas Housers Cashauna Hill - Executive Director of the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center Ariadna Godreau - Founder and Director of Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico Luis O. Gallardo Rivera - Executive Director, Center for Habitat Reconstruction Oscar Lopez Rivera - Puerto Rican activist and former political prisoner María Yvelisse Inirio - Executive Assistant Corporación del Proyecto ENLACE del Caño Martín Peña Mariolga Juliá Pacheco - Director of Citizen Participation Corporación del Proyecto ENLACE del Caño Martín Peña) Original Music by Fernando Arruda But Next Time A Feeling About It Different Next Time Full-Bodied Disparity Arduous Path Let There Be Fire Going Back Per Pound Next Blues Listen to the full But Next Time score at https://fernandoarruda.bandcamp.com/album/but-next-time

Continue delving into community-rooted responses to disaster in California, from the fires to the pandemic. You’ll hear about how people banded together to build mutual aid networks, translate emergency messages in Spanish and indigenous languages, and disseminate crucial recovery information to their communities. In Sonoma County organizers hit the fields with information about where to get food, shelter, and support. In San Francisco they set up a strong response to COVID-19 in the city’s Mission District. Tune in and hear how these leaders act collectively to confront those in power, work for justice before and after disaster, and together answer one vital question: how can next time be different?

As fires ravaged California's world-famous wine country in 2017, a community radio station, emergency dispatcher, and tenant organizers helped the most vulnerable in their community survive and recover. Community organizers and hosts of the podcasts But Next Time, Chrishelle Palay and Rose Arrieta, bring us the first of four stories of hard-won lessons learned from people on the front lines of California’s wildfires and Texas’ storms as they work to answer the question, how can next time be different? Because we are committed to language justice, we're offering a video version of But Next Time with Spanish subtitles on our site's listen page. https://risehomestories.com/but-next-time/listen/ To learn more about the people and organizations featured in But Next Time please visit ButNextTime.com. You'll find resources for disaster preparation and recovery, housing justice organizing, climate justice work, and more. Original music by Fernando Arruda.

As the western U.S. burns and the Gulf Coast recovers from yet another hurricane, But Next Time, a podcast created by artists and organizers of the Rise-Home Stories Project, lifts up powerful narratives of collective action that are transforming how communities prepare for and respond to climate-fueled natural disasters. This four-part, limited-run podcast features stories of language justice, tenant organizing, pandemic response and more, all led by the people for the people. Listen as courageous individuals step up to serve their communities, from a beloved radio host broadcasting crucial information in Spanish while the Tubbs fire engulfed Sonoma, to moms fighting for housing justice in flooded Houston after Hurricane Harvey. They also demand change from those in power to make sure that the next time a climate-fueled disaster strikes, it will be different.