Environmental Justice Network In Action
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Transcript of Environmental Justice Network In Action
Environmental Justice Network In Action
Presented by:Michael Davis
building relationships, increasing capacity,
and improving service delivery
What is Environmental Justice? Equitable distribution of risks and benefits
Inclusion of affected groups in planning and decision making
Why Is EJ Important? Right thing to do
Title VI
Social Bottom Line
SPU Strategic Business Plan
Mayor’s Race & Social Justice Initiative
Rate Payer Equity
EJNA Beginnings
• Local Hazardous Waste Management (LHWMP) funding
• Partnerships
– Immigrant & Refugee Community Based Organizations (CBOs)
– Local Governmental Organizations
– Non-governmental Organizations
– Community Groups
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES
The one-size fits all approach isn’t working Foreign born population doubled to 268,300, 15%
of King County population (1990-2000 census) How to make information and programs accessible
to all communities Joint project planning and
reciprocal training How do we share power Can we model equitable
community agency partnerships?
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE NEEDS ASSESSMENT
To address these challenges the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program, together with Community Based Organizations (CBOs), other local government organizations, universities and community participants, established the Environmental Justice Needs Assessment (EJNA) project.
PROJECT GOALSTo establish and build reciprocal relationships between all participants to increase access to information and services.
To jointly conduct a needs assessment to identify what the top environmental health needs and concerns are of immigrant and refugee communities.
To identify service delivery strategies that work for the community.
Needs Assessment• Conducting
focus groups
• Doing surveys at events and in peoples homes
Training
• Household Hazardous Waste• Low-Income Rate Assistance• Water & Energy Conservation• Weatherization & Indoor Air Quality• Recycling & Composting• Environmental Health• Seafood Safety• Water Quality• Green Gardening• Public Safety
Providing training based on identified community concerns, and other partner interests on:
Field Trips
• Cedar River Watershed• Transfer Station• Duwamish River• Ballard Locks• Water Quality Lab• University of
Washington• Longfellow Creek
EJNA offers the following field trips to reinforce the community trainings:
Community EventsPartnering with community to do outreach at community events on:
– choosing and using less toxic and non toxic products for home and garden use, – proper disposal of waste – recycling– water and energy conservation– watersheds and water quality– indoor air quality
Outcomes (2002-2005)
800+Green Home Kits Distributed
57Community Training & Presentations
616# of community participants
12Focus Groups
52Community Meetings
12Languages Served
710# of community participants
46Field Trips
28Festivals
7Community Groups
Outcomes• Building relationships of trust with the community
• Creating a community-driven project
• Reaching audiences the program has not reached before
• Increasing equitable distribution of services
• Including communities in planning and decision-making
• Increasing Race & Social Justice
• Trying to do the right thing
Lessons Learned Reaching community members by neighborhood vs. language
group Partner. Partner. Partner. You can’t do it all. Build a strong and
diverse base to increase flexibility and address community needs. Involve community members in the development of programs and
messages in the twinkle stage. Once concerns have been identified, do what needs to get done to
address issues affecting the community. Layering information/presentations with field trips closes the loop. Just because people are from the same ethnic group does not
mean that they think & act alike. When things seem stuck try and keep the cross cultural piece in
mind.
Our Project Partners International District Housing Alliance Horn of Africa Somali Community Services Asian Pacific Islander Women and Family Services
Filipino community & Samoan community Pasefica Khmer Community of Seattle and King County Local Hazardous Waste Management Program Seattle-King County Public Health Seattle Public Utilities UW Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health Seattle City Light Environmental Coalition of South Seattle American Lung Association of Washington