Beat the heat: Community members share their ideas

Hennepin County is partnering with three community-based organizations to lead engagement with, low-income, heat vulnerable, and diverse communities in a project called, “Heat Resiliency.”

The purpose of this four-month engagement, launched in July 2025, is to learn from resident’s lived experience with extreme heat and barriers they encounter when attempting to keep themselves safe and health.

The three community-based organizations, Asian Media Access , Islamic Civic Society of America, and Oromo Diaspora Media , represent diverse unique cultural groups. These organizations have special connection with Pan Asian, East African, African American, and senior citizen communities and more.

Ange Hwang at Asian Media Access said working with these vulnerable communities is essential.

“Extreme heat preparedness is critical for our Asian American seniors who face unique vulnerabilities - from language barriers that prevent them from receiving English-only emergency alerts to cultural hesitancy in seeking help during heat emergencies,” said Hwang. “Such collaborative approach helps protect our most vulnerable community members while building trust between immigrant communities and local government - work that becomes more essential as climate change brings increasingly dangerous heat waves worldwide.”

Ensuring these vulnerable voices are included within the Hennepin County planning process is critical as solutions are developed for implementing equitable solutions for the greater community. Each community group engages residents by collecting feedback through various means. This includes surveys at community events, focus groups, and informational presentations to raise awareness about the environmental, physical, and health implications of extreme heat.

Participants are encouraged to share their concerns about Minnesota’s heat conditions and ideas on what local government can do to take action and support the community. Feedback gathered in these events from will inform the development of the Hennepin Heat Resiliency Plan with the goal of increasing resiliency of vulnerable populations during extreme heat events.

You can share your own ideas too. Have your say via our ideas tab and share your thoughts on the Hennepin Heat Resiliency Plan.