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about us
The
EHJC,
started in September 2005, is funded for four years by the National
Institute for Environmental Health Sciences. The three primary
organizational partners are the Alton Park Development Corporation, Southside/Dodson Avenue Community Health Center,
and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
The long-term objective of the EHJC is to facilitate and strengthen neighborhood empowerment and leadership, ongoing information exchange, health promotion, and policy improvements in regard to environmental health and justice – with a focus on industrial and commercial chemical contamination -- in the
AP/PW neighborhood of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
late-breaking
news

On June 9, 2009, seventeen youths
and ten adults participating in the EHJC's Neighborhood
Environmental College's (NEC) Oral History Intergenerational
Class visited the UT Knoxville Campus. The group learned the basics of conducting an oral history, including how
to compile interview questions, operate audio/visual equipment,
and practice mock interviews. The Chattanooga youths also
participated in the EHJC NEC Youth Leadership Workshop on
Environmental Justice March 19; five of the adults are
graduates of other NEC courses. Between sessions, the NEC
participants toured the UT campus, learned about career
opportunities in the College of Agricultural Sciences and
Natural Resources, the College of Veterinary Medicine, the
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, and the College of
Social Work, among other fun activities. After the group returned
to Chattanooga on June 12, they spent the next week using
their skills to interview and record elders in the Alton
Park/Piney Woods neighborhood about the history of environmental
justice issues in this South Chattanooga community.

Beginning last May 4, EHJC is
sponsoring an eight-week course called Fruit of the Spirit, to
be held at Greater St. Mary Baptist Church in Alton Park. It targets faith-based groups committed to
teaching community participants specifically in high-risk
low-income communities how to reduce their chances of being
diagnosed with cancer, by learning how to incorporate physical
activity and nutritious varieties of fruits and vegetables into
their diet. Students participated in an educational
field trip provided by St. Elmo Partners to a local grocery
store, and a local restaurant, while also being provided with
pertinent information on how to read labels, how to eat
healthier at your favorite restaurant, and also how to shop for
healthier food options. Call
Ed Davis at (423) 778-2732 or email him at
for more information.

Read the Chattanooga Times Free
Press's
weekly update by EHJC Community Correspondent, Falice
Haire. |