Nancy Parrilla — San Antonio, Texas
About the Project
This storytelling project, led by Jazmin Storrs through her internship with Mobilize Green, offers a human perspective to the environmental challenges shaping life across Texas. From the Panhandle to South Texas, from coastal towns to Hill Country communities, interviews capture how people experience heat, drought, hurricanes, floods, and strong winds in their own backyards. Too often, these realities are contained in statistics, while the lived stories remain unheard. By centering personal voices, the project reminds us that whether facing storms, droughts, or flooding, we are bound by a common thread: our humanity. Each story calls us to listen with empathy, see beyond the data, and recognize that caring for the environment is inseparable from caring for one another.
Heat, Hope, and Fuerza Unida in San Antonio’s Urban Heat Island
by Jazmin Storrs
About Nancy Parrilla
Nancy Parrilla is the Chief Financial Administrator at Fuerza Unida in San Antonio, where she has worked for the past four years. Established in 1990, Fuerza Unida is a grassroots organization that empowers low-income families and communities of color through education and advocacy to advance socioeconomic and environmental justice. With more than 30 years of experience in nonprofit work, Parrilla has dedicated her career to supporting the South Side of San Antonio, an area identified as an urban heat island.
What impacts have you observed in your environment?
“It used to be that if you had a couple of box fans, you could open your windows and circulate air,” Parrilla said. “Last summer, we experienced several days over 100 degrees, so that’s no longer an option. All you’re doing is moving hot air around.”
Parilla pointed to rising indoor temperatures as one of the most severe impacts. To better understand the conditions, Fuerza Unida teamed up with the city of San Antonio’s Office of Sustainability and Adaptation International to form the South San Heat Resilience Project. They distributed 48 digital thermometers, asking residents to track temperatures inside their homes over three months.
“What we discovered was that several homes maintained 100-degree temperatures inside,” Parrilla said. “People were living like that every day. At least three people per household, without air conditioning, relying only on fans.”
San Antonio heat vulnerability map (c/0 South San Heat Resilience Project)
How does the heat affect daily life?
Padilla emphasized the difficult trade-offs families are forced to make.
“People are having to choose: do I turn on my air conditioner, or do I buy groceries? All the money they receive goes to paying the bill, and then there’s nothing left to eat, so they rely on food pantries to fill that gap,” Parrilla said.
How are you helping the community adapt?
“We live in a very underserved neighborhood. The city has brought in parks and expanded the River Walk, but it doesn’t necessarily reach the South Side of San Antonio,” Parrilla said. “The community is asking, just give us what everybody else is getting–give us a splash pad. We have very limited libraries on this side of town, so there’s not a lot of spaces to go during the summer.”
In response, Fuerza Unida provides resources such as monthly food distributions, youth leadership programs, community education workshops, and a community garden to support food access.
“A lot of people don’t realize there are simple ways to make an impact right where they live… It doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. It’s really about giving people the tools so they can start making those changes themselves.”
Why focus on trees and green spaces?
“The city will give you trees, but they don’t teach you how to plant or take care of them,” Parrilla said. “We want to educate the community that this is how you plant a tree, this is the kind of soil you need and this is how you water it effectively. After the first few months, nature can take over, but those first steps are really important.”
What can people do to help combat extreme heat?
“We have to remember that keeping a green community is not only up to the city. It’s up to all of us to take part and do what we can with what we have” Parrilla said. “Even things like using gray water from your washing machine to help water your yard. A lot of these solutions are about being resourceful and thinking differently about what we already use every day.”
Why does your work matter?
“When your house is that hot, it affects your health, sleep and ability to function. This work is really about making sure people can live with some level of safety and stability,” Parrilla said. “At Fuerza Unida, we don’t ask about income. Our policy is: if you come to our door and you need help, then you need help.”
Jazmin Storrs
Jazmin Storrs is a student at the University of Texas at Austin, double majoring in International Relations and Humanities Honors, where she has designed a concentration titled Climate Policy, Human Rights, and the Media. As a Rapoport Community Service Scholar, Jazmin is recognized for her public service. She works as an Election Clerk to support voter access and recently traveled to Washington, D.C. to advocate for underserved communities.
As a Mobilize Green Intern, Jazmin supports Keep Texas Beautiful by leading storytelling on Texans’ environmental experiences. She is also the Climate Lead for UN Young Professionals and Vice Chair for Central Texas Model United Nations.
A violinist of over ten years, Jazmin earned 1st place at the 2022 New York National Orchestra Cup and performed at the International Midwest Clinic in 2023. Passionate about humanizing climate policy, Jazmin is dedicated to ensuring that everyday voices are represented in institutional spaces.
