956 Climate Resilience Initiative
In March 2025, the Rio Grande Valley experienced historic flooding, leaving entire communities underwater and causing more than $100 million in damages across the region.
The impact was so severe that two months later, Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy counties were directly named in a Major Federal Disaster Declaration.
Yet as directly impacted members of our community, we know that this flooding is not an isolated event, nor is it something “new.”
Put plainly, the 956 faces multiple longstanding, structural crises:
Intensifying Climate Volatility,
including increasingly severe rainfall events and extreme weather patterns
Disruptive Border-Related Infrastructure,
altering water flow and floodplain function
Aging and Insufficient Drainage Infrastructure,
unable to manage current stormwater volumes
Chronic Underinvestment in Low-Income Colonias,
where flood risk is highest and protective infrastructure is weakest
Voces Unidas’ Climate Resilience Initiative (CRI) is a direct response to these crises, seeking to strengthen the RGV’s ability to prepare for, mitigate, withstand, and shape community responses to ongoing climate impacts through direct household resilience and risk reduction, narrative infrastructure and advocacy support, and local leadership and organizing capacity.
Explore CRI’s projects below.
Water Bonds
The Arroyo Colorado Project
