On-Going and Recent Projects
Water Quality and Environmental Health Project
In an attempt to create a recourse to access safe drinking water for impacted families, NLRC staff contacted the Imperial County Public Health Department, Division of Environmental Health. NLRC was instructed to contact the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and were provided with internet links to information regarding “Rural development housing loans and grants.” Upon review, it was apparent that grants and loans are made available mainly to owner occupied homes, and the applicants must be low income in order to qualify. The information was basically worthless considering the vast majority of participants in our study are renters. NLRC also contacted the Red Cross in Imperial County regarding the establishing of a safe drinking water recourse, the NLRC did not receive constructive or positive feedback.
Comite Civico del Valle promotoras contacted Campesinos Unidos in Imperial County in an attempt to retrieve drinking water donations for impacted families, but that fell through as well.
NLRC’s attempt at establishing recourse for safe drinking water was unsuccessful, not due a lack of effort on our behalf, but rather to a lack of resources and effort by local authorities. Note: IID has program that helps subsidize drinking water for homes within Imperial County’s Agricultural Zone, however the ($10or $15) monthly subsidy comes in the form of credit on one’s utility bill.
Currently, NLRC is finalizing project related data entry in order to establish further analysis.
REACH higher
Coming soon!
Tecnologico
Coming soon!
Eastern Coachella Valley EJ documentary film project
Living with Environmental Inequalities; Life in the Eastern Coachella Valley (2012)
Documentary Commentary (Click here for a PDF copy)
by Arcela Nuñez-Alvarez, Director, National Latino Research Center
April 20, 2012
The National Latino Research Center at California State University San Marcos joins community residents of the Eastern Coachella Valley in their efforts to increase awareness and education about the community’s environmental justice struggle for clean and safe water, clean air, and an overall healthy community.
In solidarity with Coachella residents and human rights advocates, we have created the documentary, “Living with Environmental Inequalities; Life in the Eastern Coachella Valley.” Our goal is to provide an overview of the community’s history of environmental racism and classism as experienced by families who live, work, play, and learn surrounded by environmental hazards. Prevalent problems of arsenic in water, exposed raw sewage, illegal dumping of chemicals, pesticide drift and other environmental hazards afflict families on a daily basis making many ill and vulnerable.
In recent years, environmental justice education and advocacy efforts have coalesced bringing together government agencies, elected officials, funders, community-based organizations, and concerned residents to advocate for improved health. Some of the accomplishments achieved to date include the following:
- WATER FILTRATION SYSTEMS (2011) - Mobile home park Residents and California Rural Legal Assistance Inc. testified in front of the Senate and Assembly Budget subcommittee regarding AB2515 (Perez), and the need for Arsenic filtration systems. AB2515 was signed into law on It allows the state public health department to enact emergency regulations to govern the permitted us of point of entry or point of use water treatment by public water systems in severely disadvantaged communities in lieu of expensive centralized treatment. The bill was designed with the Coachella Valley in mind where high concentrations of arsenic in groundwater in the east side of the valley where thousands of mobile home residents rely on local well water where high concentrations of arsenic have been detected. The bill also provides a mechanism for emergency funding for the purchase of point of use and point of entry treatment filters that range from $135 to $300 per household. The bill remains in effect as a short-term solution with grant money available until January 2014. Local officials state that the long-term solution is a $22 million pipeline to the west valley where supplies are centrally treated but that such an endeavor is still years off for completion. For more information about AB2515, seehttp://www.cdph.ca.gov/certlic/drinkingwater/Documents/POU/ab_2515_bill_20100930_chaptered.pdf& http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/board_info/agendas/2011/dec/120511_7.pdf.
- OVERHAUL OF WATER AUDITS WITHIN THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION (2011) - Residents and California Rural Legal Assistance Inc. testified about CPUC (California Public Utilities Commission deficiencies. It resulted in overhaul of the water and audits division.
- AFFORDABLE WATER RATES AND PROVISION OF FILTRATION SYSTEMS (2012)- Residents of a mobile home park won litigation. The water rates were re-set to affordable levels and management was required to provide arsenic filtration system. For more information about this, seehttp://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/published/Final_decision/160229-06.htm.
- RESTITUTION FOR RESIDENTS IN MOBILE HOME PARKS (2012) – Residents and California Rural Legal Assistance Inc. testified in Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee in support of AB 1830 (Perez) which will provide restitution for future mobile home park residents who are overcharged. Before April, 2012 mobile home park residents did not qualify for restitution of overpayment. For more information about AB1830, seehttp://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB1830.
Although important changes are beginning to take place, greater focus and resources are needed to make the changes that are desperately needed. Therefore, affected residents seek protection from key federal, state and county agencies responsible for protecting public health and the environment. Until concrete solutions to protect the health of humans and the environment are identified and implemented, learning in schools is compromised, public health deteriorates, and overall productivity stagnates.
The following news articles bring to light stories from the Coachella Valley that describe the needs and emerging advocacy efforts to bring about change in the community. This list is intended to describe issues at a glance; however, ongoing research is necessary to continue documenting and tracking the community efforts to build a healthier community.
COACHELLA IN THE NEWS
East Coachella Valley IVAN’s
http://www.ivan-coachella.org/
California Rural Legal Assistance
http://www.crla.org/
On Edge of Paradise, Coachella workers live in grim conditions
http://californiawatch.org/health-and-welfare/edge-paradise-coachella-workers-live-grim-conditions-12877
Neglected for Decades, unincorporated communities lack basic public services
http://www.scpr.org/news/2012/04/06/31936/neglected-decades-unincorporated-communities-lack-/
Reporting on Health Member Blog
http://www.reportingonhealth.org/blogs/2012/04/06/finding-invisible-public-health-californias-low-income-unincorporated-communities
Residents of Coachella suffer high rates of sickness
http://newamericamedia.org/2012/01/residents-of-coachella-valley-suffer-high-rates-of-sickness.php
On Edge of a desert paradise, Coachella farmworkers live in putrid conditions
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/24/MNOQ1LLR9E.DTL&ao=all
Mobile home park accused of overcharging for tainted water
http://farmworkersforum.wordpress.com/2011/07/19/mobile-home-park-accused-of-overcharging-for-tainted-water/
Coachella Valley to Receive $53 Million for Air Pollution Reduction Projects
http://www.aqmd.gov/news1/2012/bs020312.htm
Latinos Protecting La Tierra
http://blogs.vidaenelvalle.com/health/category/environment/
Feces Towers and Homelessness: Welcome to the Real Coachella
http://www.good.is/post/in-the-eastern-coachella-valley-residents-are-struggling-to-breathe/
CRLA's Eastern Coachella Valley Tour: Environmental Agencies Witness Firsthand Health and Environmental Hazards Plaguing Community
http://www.crla.org/crlas-eastern-coachella-valley-tour-environmental-agencies-witness-firsthand-health-and-environmenta
Eastern Coachella Valley Fights Pollution: 3 Profiles in Environmental Activism
http://newamericamedia.org/2012/04/eastern-coachella-valley-fights-pollution-3-profiles-in-environmental-activism.php
Designation of Environmental Justice (EJ) Areas for the Coachella Valley Pursuant to AB 1318
http://www.aqmd.gov/hb/attachments/2011-2015/2011Dec/2011-Dec2-017.pdf
Community Worker Comes Home
http://coachellaunincorporated.org/2012/03/27/community-worker-comes-home/
Sewage pile
http://us.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=33150&content=52909210&pageNum=-1
For more information about Coachella’s environmental justice efforts, visit the East Coachella Valley IVAN website at http://www.ivan-coachella.org/.
Proyecto Enlace
Coming soon!Food Justice Initiative Mobile Food Pantry
Report by Arcela Nuñez-Alvarez
Many families in North San Diego County lack regular access to food, especially nutritious food options. The need is especially acute among low-income, farmworker, immigrant, and non-English speaking communities.
NLRC began increasing access to healthy food through coordination of the first Mobile Pantry in North San Diego County. In collaboration with Feeding America, The Leichtag Family Foundation, The Bravo Foundation, the Farmworker CARE Coalition, and community leaders or líderes comunitarios of Poder Popular para la Salud del Pueblo, NLRC is facilitating access to food to families in great need.
The Mobile Pantry is part of a wider county-wide initiative designed to increase access to healthier and more nutritious food for families living in low income and isolated communities who often have health-related problems associated with poor diet and food insecurity (i.e. diabetes, obesity, etc.). In partnership with Feeding America, NLRC and the lideres comunitarios created a list of food items that meet nutritional recommendations and are culturally appropriate. Families receive 1-2 loafs of bread, 4 canned items, 1 box of granola or other cereal, and a bag of produce. Each family receives about 20 lbs of food. Although we have created a list of preferred items, what families actually receive may vary at each distribution; sometimes they receive additional products such as water, diapers, and other stuff not commonly given at food banks. Many of the families who receive food from the Mobile Pantry were affected by the wildfires in 2007 and are still recovering from suffering loss of property, employment, etc. Therefore, any product extra items they receive are needed and welcomed. Feeding America covers the cost of food and travel and NLRC provides staffing for coordination of logistics, distributions and community outreach and education...
Download a MS Word copy of this report.
San Diego Healthy Homes Collaborative (SDHHC) 2010
Coming soon!
Text 4 Baby
Coming soon!
San Diego Redistricting 2011
Report by Arcela Nuñez-Alvarez, Fabiola Gastelum and Shinya Uekusa
The National Latino Research Center (NLRC) at California State University San Marcos participated in a countywide redistricting effort. Coordinated by the Foundation for Change, NLRC and other organizations tracked participation in redistricting-related activities, assessed knowledge, documented challenges, and identified opportunities for increased civic participation. NLRC focused on participation of Latino, immigrant and Spanish-speaking communities in North San Diego County.
Download a PDF copy of this report
More projects/programs will be added soon!
