CHEJ’s Childproofing Our Communities (CPOC) campaign is now called the Children’s Environmental Health Program (CEHP).
NEW NAME. SAME CRITICAL FOCUS.
The founder and Executive Director of CHEJ, Lois Gibbs, was compelled to address children’s environmental health issues when in 1978 she discovered that her child’s school, her home and those of her neighbors were sitting on top of 20, 000 tons of toxic chemicals that was affecting the health of her family and her neighbors. Thru her struggle to demand justice for Love Canal residents, she discovered that no local, state or national organization existed to provide communities with strategic advice, guidance, training and technical assistance. The Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ) was created to address environmental toxins threatening communities.
After working with thousands of families seeking assistance on children’s environmental health issues, the Childproofing Our Communities (CPOC) Campaign was created in 2000 by a coalition of concerned parents, grandparents, and school employees to address health and environmental issues that affect the students and staff at the school. The coalition became the guiding force for CHEJ’s Child Proofing Our Communities Campaign which identified the main focus of collective work on school siting.
In 2011, the EPA released its School Siting Guidelines that will assist local decision makers with where to site a new school and consider environmental factors when making that decision. Over the years, CPOC in conjunction with local community leaders has been instrumental in holding federal/ state/ local agencies accountable for addressing environmental issues that may harm a school environment. The final release of these guidelines was an extraordinary victory demonstrating the power of the grassroots!
NEW NAME. Often people were confused about the focus of CPOC and could not relate to the name Childproofing Our Communities. In continuing with the tradition of educating and empowering communities, CHEJ changed the name to the Children’s Environmental Health Program (CEHP). We listened and changed the campaign name to make sure everyone understood the intent of our program.
SAME CRITICAL FOCUS. Not a new project or campaign but a renewed dedication to tackling the tough subject area of addressing environmental hazards that could pose a threat to children where they live, play, learn, eat, and pray.
New Resources. If you have not visited our website lately, www.chej.org, check out new resources and tools available to assist you with your local fight.
Rather it’s tackling:
a proposal to build a new school near an industrial complex- check out our new school siting fact sheets that can help with organizing the community and assist in enacting a local policy;
dealing with an existing school built before 1979 that has fluorescent light fixtures that contain a banned, toxic substance called PCB – our PCB-Free School Zone has fact sheets that gives an overview of the problem of PCBs in schools and identify action steps that can be taken to address contamination;
or interested in learning more about PVC- free products – the PVC-Free Schools campaign encourages schools to get rid of the poison plastic in favor of safer alternatives
We have a wealth of resources and tools available to assist you with your local issue.
Focus on Schools. Focus on Schools webpage is a snapshot of projects and resources CHEJ offers on its website that pertains to schools and children’s environmental health. You will also find this information on CHEJ’s campaign web pages.
Green Flag Program. The Green Flag School Program for environmental leadership provides a framework for students to become environmental leaders and contribute to positive change in their communities. Through the free program, students of all ages learn environmental concepts, investigate their schools, and identify solutions for making their schools safer and healthier.
For additional information or questions, please contact CHEJ at (703) 237-2249 or chej@chej.org.
