Marin Voice: As communities show resilience, we need lasting change for support systems

By Omar Carrera

PUBLISHED: October 24, 2025 at 12:57 PM PDT

The deadly fire at 516 Canal St. in San Rafael on Aug. 21 was devastating in countless ways. But for those of us who live or work in the Canal community, its impact has not come as a surprise.

This tragedy again laid bare what we already know: Housing insecurity, immigration status, poverty, language barriers and inadequate access to essential systems — like banks and health care — intersect and compound one another, creating conditions where any disaster is far more dangerous than it should be.

Dozens of families lost their homes overnight — most without renters’ insurance, banked savings or safety nets to help them start over. This fire didn’t just destroy their belongings — it erased years of hard-earned stability.

The compounding circumstances faced by the families — rooted at the complex intersection of poverty and immigration — are exactly what the Canal Alliance nonprofit organization works to change every day. Our core mission is to address the challenges and barriers that Latino immigrants and their families encounter each day and, ultimately, make Marin County a place where all of us can build safe, successful lives.

Canal Alliance has spent years responding to a never-ending poly-crisis, adapting to support the community every time:

• During the first Trump administration’s hateful rhetoric and the chilling effects of the “public charge” rule making it harder to get documentation

• During the pandemic, with its disproportionate health, education and economic impacts on low-income immigrants and English language learners

• During the cost-of-living crisis that’s driving up expenses for everyone and pushing families to the edge

• During President Donald Trump’s second administration’s systematic persecution of immigrants

• And now, as climate change brings flooding and rising tides to the subsiding Canal neighborhood, the challenges grow even more complex.

Each new crisis this community faces reveals how our systems — housing, health, education and the social safety net — were not designed with immigrant or low-income families in mind. With every new emergency, we are witnessing the predictable consequences of structural inequities. While these inequities affect immigrant families and families of color most directly, they ultimately put our entire community at risk.

For many years now it has been my honor to witness how our staff, community, funders and partners find ways to adapt, endure and push forward together in moments of crisis and injustice. But today I want to say: resilience alone cannot be the plan. For far too long, we’ve celebrated the resilience of immigrant families without fixing the systems that force them to be resilient.

Marin is one of the wealthiest counties in one of the wealthiest countries. We have both the opportunity and the obligation to do better. Doing better means redesigning our systems, policies, partnerships and investments so they prevent crises in addition to reacting to them. We must invest in safe, affordable housing. We must expand access to financial and social systems that protect families, regardless of immigration status. And we must take bold action now to protect the Canal from sea-level rise and ensure that families are safe.

But here is what gives me profound hope: the fire revealed painful truths, yes, but it also revealed how much is possible when we work together. Our collective response has been swift, collaborative and strong. City officials, county leaders, ExtraFood, Marin Community Foundation, emergency responders, the local Red Cross and countless others all came together in support of the affected families. Over a thousand individuals, local businesses, faith communities and partner agencies have generously contributed nearly $650,000 to the Canal Alliance client support fund. Our case managers continue to support these families in finding new housing and rebuilding their lives.

The community’s commitment and care proves, once again, that collective action is not only possible — it is powerful and effective. The challenge before us now is to turn this emergency coordination into enduring systems change — change that aligns city, county, nonprofits and residents around long-term access, equity and safety.

If we can sustain the same urgency, compassion and collaboration we have seen in the past several weeks, I know Marin County can become a shining example of how communities come together — not just in moments of crisis, but every day. The future we need calls upon us to be courageous in redesigning our systems to serve everyone so that we may build a stronger, safer and more just future for all who live here.

Omar Carrera, of Corte Madera, is CEO of the Canal Alliance, a San Rafael-based nonprofit organization.