Community Organizing and Leadership Development

Mobilizing Action

Communities are stronger when they can advocate for themselves. Our goal is to ensure that all Houston area residents are equipped with resources to be involved in decisions that impact their health and safety.

The issue

The Greater Houston area is saturated with environmental hazards. Many of the hazardous facilities are concentrated in and near Houston’s communities of color and low-income neighborhoods, contributing to inequities in health and other life outcomes.

Although communities on the frontlines bear the brunt of the public health and safety risks posed by the numerous pollution sources, too often they are left out of decision-making around the very environmental policies that directly affect their lives.

What we’re doing

We work in partnership with residents to help elevate their voices in policy-making processes and to equip them with information to support their efforts to advocate for their communities.

Public comments and testimonies

We rally and help communities to provide comments and testimonies on air quality and environmental justice issues at a variety of public meetings and hearings at the city, county, state, and federal levels.

We organize community meetings and candidate forums to provide residents with a platform to voice their concerns about air quality and environmental justice issues in their city or neighborhood.

Media advocacy

Through media advocacy, we aim to ensure communities are equipped with reliable information about issues affecting their environment, health, and safety. We work together with residents to lift up community voices and support their own media advocacy efforts.

Take a look at some of our recent media stories here.

Partnerships

We partner with other non-profit organizations and community leaders on a variety of issues and campaigns to expand our reach, share resources and strengthen impact.

Learn more about our partnerships here.

Environmental Justice Advocacy Leadership Lab

During the next few years, we will develop and implement an Environmental Justice Advocacy Leadership Lab (EJ-ALL) that will include training on community organizing, education about the policies that govern sources of air pollution and transportation funding, along with other community-identified topics to strengthen our collective ability to improve air quality and advance environmental justice. Stay tuned for updates on this developing program.