Not long ago, there was a time when Luana had only enough money to buy food for her sibling. Her younger sibling lived with her. For Luana, based upon the situation, it was logical to give the food to her sibling, and not eat. There wasn't enough. It’s not clear how often this happened – but she thinks it has resulted in a recurring stomach problem. “I need to make a doctor’s appointment for that,” she told me. However, things have changed. Her economic life has somewhat improved. Now, Luana has money to purchase enough food so that she too can eat. “I am no longer sacrificing one thing for the other – and that makes me feel calmer,” she said.

On June 22, a coalition of residents, from various communities (representing various organizations: Progressive Maryland and the South County Environmental Justice Coalition, PG County Change Makers, and Prince George’s County NAACP) met in South County to discuss community needs and solutions. The groups discussed implementing solar panels at schools, community representation of the Prince George’s County Board of Education, and ways to move forward. The collective settled on adding more solar panels to schools in South County. The goal is to cut the schools’ utility costs and to use that money to increase teachers’ salaries, use the funds for school resources, or perhaps aid with building new neighborhood schools. Their approach to this is not an anomaly.