Communities

Everyone benefits when a community's air is clean, the water is safe to drink, and indoor and outdoor conditions are healthy.  Too often, hazards where people live, learn, work, and play - like lead in drinking water, air pollution outside or lead paint indoors - are causing preventable health problems.  Unhealthy environments are particularly dangerous for children and often worst in neighborhoods also burdened by problems like poverty.

HEFN members are supporting communities in assessing and addressing local hazards from many angles:

• Health, improving conditions for healthy development and better health outcomes for all.
• Environment, strengthening public awareness of our health stake in environmental protection.   
• Social justice, enabling affected groups to organize and have greater voice in decisions. 
• Community development, improving local livability and recreational opportunities, reducing pollution-related costs, and enhancing appeal for families and business. 

Recommended First Reads:

Recent posts on HEFN's Giving InSight blog related to Flint, Michigan's water crisis and philanthropic opportunities for action.

Assessing, Addressing, & Progressing:  Philanthropy Improves Community Environments and Health for All, a HEFN issue brief

Pollution, Poverty, People of Color, an Environmental Health News series