The following is an announcement from the Beacon Hill Air and Noise Health Impact Project:
In the spirit of the beloved community, El Centro is collaborating with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reach out, educate, and empower Beacon Hill residents on air and noise health impacts.
Seattle’s Beacon Hill community neighborhood is adversely affected by air and noise pollution from mobile vehicles such as cars, trucks, trains, airplanes and ships. It is surrounded by Interstate 5 and 90 on its west and north borders, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Rainier Avenue on its east border, and the Port of Seattle and three airports on its west and south borders.
The health data from the Seattle/King County Public Health, the Seattle City Comprehensive Plan, and Puget Sound Clean Air Agency show that Beacon Hill residents have high environmental health risks for cancer, stroke, diabetes and asthma. It has the highest infant mortality in King County and has cancer risks for toxic air pollutants in the same range as the Duwamish industrial area.
The Project will offer English and bilingual training classes on air and noise health impacts to Beacon Hill residents from late spring through September. Class representatives will then gather at a conference in October to identify and prioritize projects that can address air and noise health impacts for implementation in 2018.
Since Beacon Hill’s population is extremely diverse with 44% immigrant and refugees, and 80% people of color (50% Asian Pacific Islander, 22% African Americans, and 8% Latino/Hispanic), El Centro is hiring English and bilingual multicultural talent fluent in Chinese-Taishanese, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese. The application period for 6 Community Organizers, 10 Trainers, 5 Translators, 18 Project Assistants and Graphics/Web Designer closes on February 28, 2017. For job details, please see http://www.elcentrodelaraza.org/job-openings-at-el-centro-de-la-raza/ .
The project is guided by a Steering Committee that includes Asian Counseling & Referral Services, Got Green, Interim Community Development Association, International Community Health Services, Puget Sound SAGE, and Quieter Skies Seattle.