Program Could Offer Possible Solution to Trash on Skid Row

Armed with data, local activists are taking on environmental justice campaigns. In the absence of action on the part of the Federal Government, local organizations in Mississippi and across the South are working to increase transparency, generate data on public health issues, and mobilize action on climate change.

The Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas and its subsidiary Building Health act as safety nets for uninsured people experiencing homelessness by expanding the definition of healthcare to also include housing, serving about 85,000 people a year. By providing wraparound care and services from help finding housing to legal assistance and education, the groups’ combined efforts helped shrink the rate of uninsured, unhoused people from 16% in 2020 to about 12% now.

A mobile shower facility called God’s Bathouse stops at churches in Florida to provide a safe environment for people experiencing homelessness to take a hot shower and address their health maintenance needs.

The Network of Water Rights Initiative (NWRI) works with local organizations to improve access to safe water through education and awareness campaigns aimed at enlightening people about the health risks of contaminated water. NWRI has led water clean-up efforts, helped locals establish security measures to prevent people from dumping waste in water and even helped get a water bill signed into law that would improve water supply and sanitation services across the state.

Members of a water-insecure community mobilized to contribute a portion of their monthly stipends to repair and maintain the singular borehole providing water to the village. The community members — primarily women — also installed water taps throughout the community in locations like schools and mosques to ensure easy access to clean, safe drinking water.

In response to the water crisis, grassroots organizers and community members are stepping up to provide aid and fill the gaps left by government authorities. Organizations like Flint Rising and DigDeep collect and donate bottled water and send volunteers door-to-door to ensure residents have access to clean drinking water. There is also the Navajo Water Project, which installs home water systems in those without access to running water or sewer lines, providing 1,200 gallons of water to homes in need, as well as jobs for members of the Navajo Nation.

To combat health and sanitary issues arising from high rates of open defecation and a lack of government support, community members worked together to fund and build 14 easily accessible toilets that are cleaned daily and open for anyone to use.

A community-based water testing and lead-education pilot program aimed to rebuild confidence and trust among Flint residents, who are skeptical of state-affiliated testing. Trained students collected water samples that were tested by University of Michigan labs. Educational materials provided with results included how to install, maintain, and use filters. While most samples didn't show issues, households with dangerous lead levels were given bottled water, filters, and other services. Once the pilot ended, the Mckenzie Patrice-Croom Water Lab secured funding to continue free community-based water testing.

BlueConduit, an analytics startup, applies statistical models to identify neighborhoods and households that might have lead pipes. The models include dozens of factors, such as the age of the home and proximity of other homes where lead has been found, to help predict likely locations of lead pipes and create a ranking by likelihood that cities can use to prioritize which pipes to examine. In Flint, MI, about 70% of the homes identified using the models had lead pipes, compared to about 15% of homes where excavations did not use the model. The company is working with organizations in dozens of other cities.

The Swinomish tribe in Washington state is combining traditional knowledge and science to combat the effects of climate change and improve the health of its land, water, and people. In recent years, their salmon harvest has diminished due to warming waters, but they’ve instituted salmon recovery efforts by restoring tidelands and channels and planting trees along stream beds to cool the waters. Their focus on ecosystem and community health could be a model for other Indigenous tribes looking to create their own climate plans.