Community Outreach and Engagement Core

Partnership: The COEC of the CEHNM is a partnership between Center scientists and our primary community partner, WE ACT. Founded in 1988, WE ACT was New York's first environmental justice organization created to improve environmental health and quality of life in communities of color. With a staff of twelve experts in environmental issues and community outreach, and with support from private and government funding, WE ACT has developed extensive partnerships with Northern Manhattan (NM) community organizations, and with environmental groups, regulatory agencies, and elected officials at the local, state, and national level. WE ACT and CEHNM have been partners since 1996, have collaborated on community-based participatory research (CBPR) and outreach programs, and share a commitment to using science and educational outreach to improve health. In our partnership model, WE ACT is responsible for a significant portion of COEC activities. Approximately 60% of our COEC budget is allocated to support their staff and effort. For CEHNM, partnering with a strong environmental organization like WE ACT facilitates connections to a complex community in NM that we could not easily reach otherwise. The partnership with WE ACT allows us to more effectively learn about community environmental concerns and promotes translation and dissemination of CEHNM findings for community benefit. For WE ACT, partnering with the Center provides a resource to support education and advocacy, and increases their access to scientific and government communities.