Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE)

Community Profiles 2010

Level I

Level II

Level I Funding

Healthy Environment, Healthy Springfield (HEHS)
Springfield, Massachusetts
EPA Region 1

Healthy Environment, Healthy Springfield (HEHS) is a recipient of a Level I CARE cooperative agreement. The HEHS project will be convened by the Partners for a Healthier Community, Inc. (PHC) and the Pioneer Valley Asthma Coalition (PVAC). PHC is a nonprofit organization committed to building a measurable healthier Springfield through civic leadership, collaborative partnerships, and advocacy. PHC has been the fiscal agent for the PVAC since 2006. PVAC is a broad-based community coalition that addresses asthma rates in the Springfield area and brings together stakeholders from various sectors of the community. The Healthy Environment, Healthy Springfield initiative will focus on Springfield (pop.148, 136), the largest city in New England. Once a thriving city with the manufacturing industry, the city has seen a sharp economic decline over the last several decades as the manufacturing industry has decreased causing unemployment, poverty and crime rates to rise sharply. Some of the environmental health concerns that the Springfield community faces are poor air quality (point & mobile sources), home indoor air quality, lead, hazardous waste, pesticides and drinking, surface and ground water. Through the CARE cooperative agreement HEHS will develop a sustainable community partnership, increase community mobilization and understanding of environmental health risks enabling active participation in city-wide efforts to reduce risks, and develop an inventory of the primary environmental health risks facing the community and a risk assessment to prioritize these risks. HEHS will also use the EPA 10-step Road map process to identity and prioritize local environmental risk data and community strengths and resources.

Prospective CARE Partners: UMass (School of Public Health), Springfield Dept. of Parks, Buildings & Recreation Mgmt., The Springfield Renaissance School, Springfield Partners for Community Action, The Economic Development Council of Western MA., The City of Springfield, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, Dept. of Health & Human Services, American Lung Assoc., Springfield Chamber of Commerce

Portland’s Initiative for Protecting Envir. Resources (PIPER)
Portland, Maine
Region 1

The Portland Initiative for Protecting Environmental Resources (PIPER) is a recipient of a Level I CARE cooperative agreement. City of Portland’s Public Health Division (PPHD) will be the lead organization for the PIPER project. The mission of PPHD is to improve the health of individuals, families, and the community through disease prevention, health promotion, and protection from environmental threats. The community to be served by this project is the City of Portland. The City of Portland has an estimated 62,562 residents and 9.4% of its residents are ethnic or racial minorities. Portland has a long industrial history that has directly and negatively impacted the community and all media (land, water & air) of its environment. Through this CARE cooperative agreement PIPER will create a self-sustaining community-based partnership, help the Portland community understand its pollutants and risks, set priorities for risk reduction and implement EPA’s strategies for reducing exposures to local toxic pollutants and other environmental concerns.

Prospective CARE Partners: University of Southern Maine, Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Planning Dept. & Public Services Dept. for the City of Portland, Portland Water District, Friends of Casco Bay, Casco Bat Estuary Partnership, Portland Trials, Hannaford Supermarkets, MaineHealth, Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention, Environmental Health Strategy Center, East bayside Neighborhood Org., Parkside Neighborhood Assoc., American Lung Assoc., United Way of Greater Portland, and Avesta Housing.

Sunset Park Renews its Industrial Neighborhood to Green (SPRING)
Brooklyn, New York
Region 2

This nine minute YouTube video outlines the approach the UPROSE used to bring the Sunset community stakeholders together to discuss neighborhood concerns.UPROSE _ Sunset Park.2010 project

The Sunset Park Renews its Industrial Neighborhood to Green (SPRING) project is a recipient of a Level I CARE cooperative agreement. This project will be convened by UPROSE, an intergenerational and multi-racial/national community-based organization dedicated to the development of southwest Brooklyn. The community of focus for the SPRING project is residents of the Sunset Park (District 7). The poverty rate in Sunset Park is higher than the overall poverty rates of both Brooklyn and greater New York City. Environmental factors that have a serious impact on the people who live in Sunset Park are: heavy traffic, industrial operations, commercial fertilizers, pesticides, accidental spills, intentional dumping of cleaning products, wastewater and other pollutants. Asthma rates in Sunset Park are high: approximately three out of four of our youth activists at UPROSE either have asthma themselves or have a sibling afflicted with the condition. Through this CARE cooperative agreement SPRING will convene and facilitate meetings with all community stakeholder groups involved, strategically engage resident experts and take advantage of existing local knowledge to collaboratively compile a list of local environmental hazards-including land, air, and water pollutants, housing issues, waste management, climate change, and others. SPRING will also identify “information gaps” and undertake research/education activities as needed; consciously consider combined risk from multiple sources and how some risks may weigh more heavily on vulnerable populations; share the information complied; and work to develop priorities and identify assets and steps that can be taken to begin to address the identified priorities with concrete actions and subsequently document actions taken.

Prospective CARE Partners: The City of New York Borough of Brooklyn (Community Board #7), Center for Family Life in Sunset Park, Gowanus Industrial Park, Inc., Brooklyn (Kings County) Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Inc., Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow (OBT), Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation, City Council representative (Sara Gonzalez, State Senator (Velmanette Montgomery), Congresswomen (Nydia Velázquez), Congressman Jerry Nadler).

CAP Partnership for Addressing Environmental Risks in PR
San Juan, Puerto Rico
EPA Region 2

CAP Partnership for Addressing Environmental Risks in PR is the recipient of a Level I CARE cooperative agreement that will be convened by the Inter American University of Puerto Rico (IAUPR). IAUPR is a nonprofit organization with over 40,000 students in nine campuses. The Center of Environmental Education, Conservation and Interpretations (CECIA) at IAUPR complements the traditional education among Puerto Rico’s general, scientific and professional communities by providing training and education in both traditional and non-traditional manners and settings, enabling students, technicians, professionals and the public at large to become citizens with the capacity to make informed decisions concerning environmental issues. In Puerto Rico, a large number of small, rural and community water systems have never complied with the US EPA’s regulations. Many of them are under the Safe Water Drinking Water Act administrative orders for a number of reasons but among the important because of the inability of those systems to operate in a sustainable manner. Some of the other environmental concerns in Puerto Rico are: illegal pesticides, toxic metals, parasites of waterborne disease, toxic organic chemicals, herbicides and contaminated water and soil. Through the CARE cooperative agreement CAP partnership for addressing environmental risks in PR will do sampling for heavy metals in the water and soil, conduct field information gatherings on local practices in homes and small businesses for waste, pesticide and chemical toxic disposal, provide information as well as displays for the community on environmental pollutants healthy homes and pesticides, and perform and record outreach efforts and measures.

Prospective CARE Partners: Fomento Cooperativo; Pfizer Inc; Stryker P.R. Ltd; Bomberos de Patillas; Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales; Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados; Gabriella and Paul Rosenbaum Foundation.

Chester Environmental Partnership
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Region 3

The Chester Environmental Partnership project is the recipient of a Level I CARE cooperative agreement. The organization leading this project is the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia. Public Law Interest of Philadelphia is an independent non-profit organization whose mission is to provide legal and technical expertise and assistance to local communities of color and poverty that seek to overcome the disproportionate burdens of environmental impacts. The community this project will convene is Chester in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Chester is a distressed city with severely disadvantaged population. 34.8% of Chester population lives below the federal poverty line. Chester was the focus of one of EPA’s first cumulative risk studies in 1995 where they discovered that Chester residents ran a higher than average chance of developing cancer and other health effects due to environmental risk factors facing their community. Through this CARE cooperative agreement CEP will add new partners, increase the involvement of existing partners, develop an understanding of all the community’s environmental concerns across multiple media’s, establish the framework necessary to achieve consensus on the community’s environmental health priorities and risk reduction strategies, and ultimately develop and implement risk reduction strategies that will measurably improve the health and environment of Chester.

Prospective CARE Partners: Southeast Regional Office of the PA Dept. Of Environmental Protection, Binnacle Reinvestment Group, Covanta Energy, Chester Nehemiah Project, House of Representatives-Commonwealth of PA, Widener University, and Penn Medicine: Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology.

Boyd-Greenup Partnership for Environmental Concerns
Ashland, Kentucky
Region 4

The Boyd-Greenup Partnership for Environmental Concerns (BGPEC) project is a recipient of a CARE Level I cooperative agreement. The Ashland-Boyd County Health Department (ABCHD) will be representing this project. The Ashland-Boyd County Health Department’s mission is in “Shaping the Future Through Preventative and Community Health.” The Boyd-Greenup Partnership for Environmental Concerns community of focus is the Boyd and Greenup County regions. Boyd and Greenup counties are a point of reference for many transportation lines including rail, water and land. The Boyd and Greenup counties in particular have been scrutinized for poor environmental conditions at both the state and national levels. More specifically there are a number of documented environmental concerns and toxic pollutants affecting the Boyd and Greenup community. Some of these include: indoor/outdoor air pollution, drinking/surface/waste water, municipal solid waste collection and hazardous chemical releases. Through this CARE Level I cooperative agreement BGPEC will engage community efforts in identifying key environmental concerns through the implementation of a broad-based environmental stakeholder group. The group will be comprised of both existing and newly created partnerships among area businesses, the local government and residents from both Boyd and Greenup counties, BGPEC will also integrate a thorough community needs assessment using PACE-EH, strategic planning strategies and the development of an online data warehouse for environmental references.

Prospective CARE Partners: Ashland Independence School District, Greenup County Health Dept., Boyd County Extension Agent for Agriculture & Natural Resources, The FIVCO District, and the Office of the Mayor and City Commissioners.

Turkey Creek
Biloxi, Mississippi
Region 4

Turkey Creek is a recipient of the CARE Level I cooperative agreement. The Center for Environmental Economic Justice (CEEJ) will be representing this project. CEEJ will utilize CARE Level I funding to continue a 2008 Rockefeller Foundation collaboration project grant in the Turkey Creek community that will also include the Turkey Creek Southwest community. Turkey Creek and Turkey Creek Southwest communities are situated alongside an industrial area with numerous toxics in the air, water and soil. These two communities also have high rates of poverty with over 30% of the population living at or below the poverty line. Through the CARE cooperative agreement CEEJ will: create a community partnership that is a multi-stakeholder group that includes industries surrounding the Turkey Creek and TC southwest communities, conduct a community capacity-building program, provide information and tools to assist in assessment of risks facing their communities, mobilize local resources and utilize EPA voluntary programs.

Prospective CARE Partners: Environmental Management Services, Dr.Yuan Jackson State University, Citizens League for Environmental Action Now, Harrison County Board of Supervisors, Mississippi’s Agency for Natural Resources-Environmental Protection Division, Harrison County Health Dept. and ATSDR.

Minnehaha-Hiawatha Corridor Environmental Collaboration
Minneapolis, Minnesota
EPA Region 5

Minnehaha-Hiawatha Corridor Environmental Collaboration is the recipient of a Level I CARE cooperative agreement that will be convened by Hennepin County. Hennepin County government’s mission is to enhance the health, safety and quality of life of our residents and communities in a respectful, efficient and fiscally responsible way. This proposal focuses on the Minnehaha-Hiawatha corridor in south Minneapolis, and includes portions of Longfellow and the East Phillips neighborhoods. The corridor area includes the region’s first light rail transit line, a four-lane highway with up to 45,000 vehicles per day, a freight rail line, and high-power transmission lines. Some of the environmental issues these communities face are: an arsenic-based pesticide manufacturing plant, contaminated soil and groundwater, petroleum and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), lead-based paint contamination, organic compounds, air quality, and asthma. Through this CARE cooperative agreement, the Minnehaha-Hiawatha Corridor Environmental Collaboration will empower residents and businesses to deal with environmental issues in their community through a collaborative process to address environmental contamination issues, ensure a community engagement process that is inclusive of all residents in the project area, facilitate a broader collaboration with additional stakeholders in environmental justice, health, multi-cultural communities, and community and business groups and provide data and expertise on toxic environmental pollutants and risks. This is the first CARE cooperative agreement awarded by USEPA in the State of Minnesota.

Prospective CARE Partners: Alexander’s Import Auto Repair, American Lung Association, Blue Construction Inc., Minneapolis Department of Community Planning & Economic Development, East Phillips Improvement Coalition, Environmental Justice Advocates of Minnesota, Gardening Matters, Groundwork Minneapolis, Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department, Hennepin-University Partnership, Indigenous People’s Green Job Coalition, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Lake Street Council, Little Earth of United Tribes, Longfellow Business Association, Longfellow Community Council, The Pastors/Leaders of the Churches in the Longfellow Lutheran Parish, Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Mississippi Watershed Management Organization, Preventing Harm in Minnesota and Women’s Environmental Institute.

Chickasaw Nation Community
Ada, Oklahoma
Region 6

The Chickasaw Nation Community Aware project is a recipient of the CARE Level I cooperative agreement. This project will be represented by the Chickasaw Nation. Chickasaw Nation is a federally recognized Indian Tribe whose mission is to enhance the overall quality of life for the people of Chickasaw. The community of focus for this project is the City of Ada with a population of approximately 15,691 people. Some of the pollution problems within the Ada community are: leaking underground storage tanks, ground water contamination, hazardous waste, orphan sites with potential hazardous substances, and poor air /water quality. Through this CARE cooperative agreement Chickasaw Nation will identify and prioritize the potential risks of exposure to toxic pollutants and other environmental concerns in the community, develop a prioritized list of risks and concerns with an action plan to address the risks and concerns, and build on existing and new partnerships within the community.

Prospective CARE Partners: Institute for Environmental Sciences Education & Research, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Ada Area Chamber of Commerce, City of Ada Public Works Division, Pontotoc County Conservation District, and Ada Recycling Coalition.

San Luis Valley Leap-High
Alamosa, Colorado
Region 8

San Luis Valley (SLV) Leap-High is a recipient of a CARE Level I cooperative agreement. San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council will be the organization leading this project. San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council’s mission is to protect and restore -- through research, education and advocacy -- the biologically diversity, ecosystems, and natural resources of the Upper Rio Grande bioregion, balancing ecological values and human needs. The San Luis Valley in southern Colorado is one of the largest sub-alpine valleys in the world. The median household income is less than half the national average, and 38% of the children live in poverty within San Luis Valley. The Leap-High project will develop a community-based prioritization of environmental risks and will work with the well-established and highly trusted public nursing community in gathering and disseminating information, and collecting future data. SLV partnered with the public nursing community doing free well testing under the EPA Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving grant over the past three years and will expand on that collaboration. Some of the environmental concerns include: arsenic, ground and surface water pollution, toxic waste, water quality and outdoor/indoor air quality. Through this CARE Level I project SLV will provide education and assistance to those individuals and businesses that wish to implement best management practices, and to identify and minimize sources of environmental pollutants. SLV also seeks to expand collaborative partnerships that include community organizations, residents, businesses, governments, environmental groups and health care communities, gather information to help the SLV communities understand the potential sources of toxic pollutants, and hold community meetings and other forums in order to assess public concerns about environmental contaminants while educating the public about the issues being brought forward.

Prospective CARE Partners: Alamosa County Commissioners, Conejos County Commissioners, Costilla County Commissioners, Rio Grande County Commissioners, Saguache County Commissioners, Congressional Rep. John Salazar, Alamosa County Public Health, Conejos County Public Health, Costilla County Public Health, Rio Grande County Public Health, Hospice del Valle, Rocky Mountain Prevention, Adams State College, Colorado State University Extension, Alamosa Public Schools, Alamosa Riverkeepers, Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration, ScSEED, SLV Immigrant Resource Center, Valley Community Fund, Agro Engineering, Cactus Hill Farms, Walker Works Construction, Sangre de Cristo Laboratories.

Environmental Justice Action Collaborative for Maywood
Los Angeles, California
Region 9

The Environmental Justice Action Collaborative for Maywood is a recipient of the CARE Level I cooperative agreement. Union de Vecinos is a grassroots community based organization that promotes civic and community participation in Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles, and the City of Maywood. The target community for this project will be the entire City of Maywood. The City of Maywood is located on the outskirts of East Los Angeles, surrounded by industrial facilities and is one square mile in radius. Some of the environmental issues the Maywood communities face are lead in the homes, contaminated wells and poor drinking water quality. Maywood has for decades has been the site of polluting industries and warehouses. Through this cooperative agreement Environmental Justice Action Collaborative for Maywood will address the environmental issues within the Maywood area through an educational campaign and the development of a community-based environmental justice action plan. This plan will focus on addressing the cumulative impacts of the contaminants in its land, water and homes. EJ Action Collaborative for Maywood also seeks to empower the entire community by participating in environmental change, educational seminars, and disseminating information to neighbors and participating as an active force that strives for positive environmental transformation for all community members.

Prospective CARE Partners: PUMA, Santa Rosa Lima Church, and Environmental Justice Coalition for Water.

Native Village of Eyak’s Sustainable Community
Cordova, Alaska
Region 10

Native Village of Eyak’s Sustainable Community is a recipient of the CARE Level I cooperative agreement. This project will be convened by The Native Village of Eyak (NVE). NEV is a federally recognized tribe located in the Eastern Gulf of Alaska. It is the largest Tribe on the Cooper River with approximately 525 members. The Native Village of Eyak Traditional Council is a government entity that promotes self-determination to NVE tribal members. In addition, the Tribe operates in a way that is acceptable to Alaska Native cultural values and traditions in order to enhance the well being of their people both physically and spiritually. Most of the Tribal members currently reside in the City of Cordova. Cordova is an isolated community in rural Alaska situated in the rich and diverse habitat boundaries of two major ecosystems, the Prince William Sound and the Copper River Delta. There’s a number of environmental problems with the Cordova community that have a direct impact on the health and well-being of the families who live there. Some of the known contaminants that will be addressed through this cooperative agreement are: Lingering oil contamination from Exxon Valdez, storm water pollution, contaminated drinking water, solid waste, hazardous waste, toxins, and other public health threats. Through this CARE cooperative agreement Eyak will identify environmental issues in the community, prioritize the risks and work collaboratively towards improving those areas, devise methods to prevent contamination through community education and decrease hazardous materials usage through education projects. The Native Village of Eyak’s Sustainable Community project will be broken into four major milestones: 1) capacity building 2) site inventory mapping 3) contamination education and prevention and 4) creating a “sustainable community”.

Prospective CARE Partners: City of Cordova, Cordova School District , Cordova Electric Co-operative, Copper River Watershed Project and Prince William Sound Science Center.

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Level II Funding

Northern Manhattan CARE Collaborative
New York, New York
Region 2

The Northern Manhattan CARE Collaborative project is the recipient of a Level II CARE cooperative agreement, building on a successful level I award of 2007. West Harlem Environmental Action, Inc. (WE ACT) will be the organization leading this project. WE ACT is a non-profit community-based environmental justice organization dedicated to building community power to fight environmental racism and improve environmental health, protection and policy in communities of color. WE ACT will continue to support their successful CARE Level I project through this CARE level II partnership of broad based stakeholders in Northern Manhattan, New York City. This effort will work to reduce risk from toxic exposures in Northern Manhattan, specifically with relation to solid waste, pests and pesticides. Through this CARE level II project WE ACT will: 1) Identify risk actions targeting toxic exposures from solid waste, pests and pesticides in Northern Manhattan, 2) Implement risk reduction actions targeting toxic exposures from solid waste, pests and pesticides, 3) help the Northern Manhattan CARE Collaborative become self-sustaining, 4) and implement a composting and recycling project in collaboration with a local school and a NYC-based composting and recycling agency (Action Environmental Services).

Established CARE Partners: Grant House Tenant Association and the Morningside Heights/West Harlem Sanitation Coalition, Simmons Gallery and Grass Roots Farmers Market, Fredrick E. Samuels MHOP Resident Association, Bank of America, Harlem Business Alliance, Touro College of Pharmacy, Columbia NIEHS Center for Environmental Health in Northern Manhattan, Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Bureau of Environmental Surveillance & Policy, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and Little Sisters of the Assumption.

Healthy Homes-Healthy Business Project
Detroit, Michigan
EPA Region 5

The Healthy Homes-Healthy Business project is a recipient of a Level II CARE cooperative agreement. The lead organization for this project will be Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision (SDEV). SDEV is a community-based non–profit with a mission to improve the environment and strengthen the economy of Southwest Detroit. Southwest Detroit had a successfully completed CARE Level I project and will be building this CARE Level II project on the results and findings of their Level I project. The communities of focus for this CARE level II project are the adjacent neighborhoods of Southwest Detroit and South Dearborn. The Healthy Homes-Healthy Businesses project will reduce risks from four environmental problems that were chosen as top priorities by the stakeholders participating in the CARE level I project: 1) mobile source air pollutants 2) stationary source air pollutants 3) incompatible land uses and 4) lead poisoning. The Healthy Business program will target businesses to make improvements that will reduce health and environmental risks, incorporate sustainable operating practices to reduce other air emissions and address code operations, provide risk reduction tools to households at highest risk for lead poisoning and provide tools to households with asthma and other breathing problems. Through these comprehensive efforts SDEV will achieve measurable reductions in risks from priority concerns of air quality, land use and lead poisoning.

Established CARE Partners: Cummins Bridgeway, Ford Motor Company/Rouge Plant Environmental Staff, Marathon Petroleum Company, Severstal North America, City of Detroit Health and Wellness Promotion, Detroit City Council President Ken Cockrel’s Office, Michigan Dept. Community Health, Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality, Michigan Dept. of Transportation, Dept. of Environmental Affairs, State Representative Rashida Tlaib’s Office, Wayne County Dept. of Environment, ACCESS, American Lung Assoc., Bridging Communities, CHASS, CLEARCrops, Community Action Against Asthma, Detroit Vacant Property Campaign, Friends of the Detroit River, Greening of Detroit, Michigan Environmental Council, New Day Center, People’s Community services, SEMCOG, SEMCOSH, Urban Neighborhood Initiatives, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Southwest Detroit Business Assoc., Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition, and Southwest Detroit Development Collaborative.

Gary CARE Partnership Project

Final Report (PDF) (12pp, 217k)

Gary CARE Partnership Project
Gary, Indiana
EPA Region 5

The Gary CARE Partnership project is the recipient of a Level II CARE cooperative agreement. The City of Gary CARE Partnership is a collaborative partnership made up of local community organizations, industry, business, university, faith-based, youth, and government representatives initially organized under an EPA CARE level I grant project. The mission of the Gary CARE Partnership is to engage in a collaborative, community-based process to identify and prioritize risks and to create an action plan to address environmental health issues that affect health, quality of life, and sustainable economic development. The Gary CARE Partnership project will employ a comprehensive multimedia Healthy Homes approach to reduce toxic threats in high-risk Gary homes and neighborhoods and build local capacity for environmental action. With a focus on reducing the threats of lead, mold and hazardous household products the CARE Partnership will train nurses and graduates of the City of Gary Brownfield’s Job Training Program to work in teams to conduct “Healthy Homes Assessments” in up to 200 high-risk homes. Smoking, second and third hand smoke, outdoor air pollution, abandoned buildings and vacant lots, vehicular air pollution, illegal dumping, asthma, and surface water protection are other prioritized issues of concern for the Gary CARE Partnership that will be addressed and implemented through of this level II project to achieve multi-media improvement and risk reductions.

Established CARE Partners: Camp, Dresser & McKee, Inc., Indiana American Water, United Water Suez, U.S. Steel, Indiana University NW, Maternal and Child Health Network, Motivating Women Ministry, Northwest Indiana Federation, Solomon’s Kingdom CDC, Gary Common Council, Gary Community Development, Gary Dept. of Environmental Affairs, Gary Health Dept., IN Dept. of Environmental Management, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Lake County Solid, Waste Management District, Froebel Community Health Foundation, Groundwork Gary, Inc., Inst. of Cultural & Environmental Understanding, Lake County Minority Tobacco Coalition, Miller Citizens Corporation, Resident Owned Business Initiative, Inc., Youth Leaders in Action.

Wichita Initiative to Renew the Environment (WIRE)
Kansas City, Kansas
Region 7

Wichita Initiative to Renew the Environment (WIRE) is a recipient of a CARE Level II Cooperative agreement. The University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita Department of Preventative Medicine and Public Health in partnership with the Environmental Leadership Council will be the organizations leading this project. This Level II project will build on the current Level I CARE project. WIRE will be a community collaborative project to sustain collaborative partnerships dedicated to understanding, educating and reducing toxic risks and environmental pollutants that impact inner city Wichita. Through WIRE’s CARE Level I project they were able to organize, prioritize and identify three top concerns: 1) mobile source air emissions, 2) pollution in the Arkansas River, and poor waste management. Through this Level II agreement WIRE will reduce the risk of mobile air emissions, reduce the risk of storm water run-off in the Little and Big Arkansas River, reduce the risk of solid waste pollution/greenhouse gas emissions and develop the capacity of the Environmental Leadership Council to ensure they are self sustaining. WIRE will also identify and implement culturally appropriate communication strategies for reaching the inner-city target population to provide education opportunities to internal and external partners, the media and the community at large, develop idling-reduction guidelines, and implement idling-reduction strategies, and recruit and educate businesses to reduce waste and prevent pollution via the WasteWise program.

Established CARE Partners: City Manager’s Air Quality Improvement Task Force, Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment, Chamber of Commerce’s Visioneering Wichita-Sustainability Coalition, Parent Teacher Assoc., Visioneering Wichita Health Alliance, Wichita Mayor’s Youth Council, Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy, Arkansas River Coalition, North High School, Wichita Park Dept., Public Works, Wichita Botanical Gardens and Arboretum.

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Community Profiles 2010

Level I Funding

Level II Funding

Gary CARE Partnership Project

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