Youngstown residents invited to forum to discuss impacts of climate change in area
The Youngstown community was invited to a public forum on Wednesday, March 25, looking to discuss and address the impact of climate change on the area.
The forum, hosted by the Northeast Ohio Community Resilience Centre, looked to bring residents together to have a conversation about planning for how to protect the community and infrastructure in times of storms or other intense weather events.
The center, according to a news release outlining the forum, has been listening to community concerns about weather impacts, including a heatwave in June of 2025 that knocked out power to Northeast Ohio customers and the recent wind storm that left over 25,000 people in the dark.
“We listened to you. Now we want to show you what we heard and what Mahoning County could become,” said Yvonka Hall, a member of the Northeast Ohio Community Resistance Centre and the organizer of the event.
Hall continued,” Climate resilience is not a distant policy issue. It is about whether your lights stay on, whether your elderly neighbor is safe in a heat emergency and whether your community has a plan before the next crisis hits.”
During the forum, organizers wanted community leaders to address the alleged lack of supplies for people impacted by severe weather.
“When we talk about resilience, our communities have been ill-prepared to address the issues. We saw it in the wintertime when we had these extreme cold spells, with nowhere for people to go. Looking at those things in the community and saying ‘How can we help build resilience in the community agencies that we already have in order for them to address the crisis that’s coming’,” said Hall.