Sunnyvale webinar: Outdoors Empowered Network urges trauma‑informed, inclusive approach to coastal access

Sarah, presenter with the Outdoors Empowered Network, told a City of Sunnyvale webinar that expanding access to coastal and outdoor spaces requires more than lending equipment: it must address safety, cultural inclusion and intergenerational healing alongside gear and training.

OEN, she said, supports member libraries and community organizations with four core services: discounted gear procurement, program design and training, peer professional networks, and thought leadership. "Gear acquisition is extremely expensive," Sarah said, and OEN helps libraries obtain gear at roughly "30 to 50% off of the retail price," enabling programs that would otherwise be unaffordable for many nonprofits.

The organization’s framework for coastal access groups the work under three branches — safety, culture and healing — and stresses that public open spaces, history‑based signage, community engagement and transportation access must already be in place for outreach to succeed. "If we're trying to talk about...access and…