In addition to the original three core research projects of MCECH, funding was received in fall 2000 from NIEHS to conduct the Community Organizing Network for Environmental Health (CONEH), which builds upon and is integrated with the activities of CAAA.  The overall goal of CONEH is to reduce exposure to physical environmental and psychosocial environmental stressors associated with asthma severity and exacerbation, and to strengthen protective factors that modify the effect of these stressors on children with asthma, their caregivers, and the neighborhoods and broader community in which they reside.

In order to both enhance the effects of the present intervention and to expand the goals, objectives, activities and evaluation design, the CONEH intervention extends beyond the household and neighborhood levels and is developing a more comprehensive approach with intervention and evaluation activities that also target the broader community and policy levels.  The specific aims of the CONEH project are as follows:

1. to identify, prioritize, and translate the relevant findings of the current CAAA data collection activities, together with proposed additional CONEH data collection activities, in order to guide the implementation and evaluation of an expanded, multi-level intervention;
2. to conduct and evaluate a multi-level, community-based intervention in order to reduce exposure to physical environmental and psychosocial environmental stressors associated with childhood asthma severity and exacerbation, and to strengthen protective factors (e.g., social support, community capacity) that may modify the effects of these stressors;
3. to examine whether the conducted multi-level, community-based intervention enhances the effect of an intensive household intervention on the health and well-being of children with asthma and their caregivers; and
4. to increase community awareness and knowledge of factors associated with the environment and asthma through the dissemination of research findings to community residents in ways that are understandable and beneficial to the community.

View the Virtual Toxic Tour of Detroit  (Windows Media Player file; 55mb)

Accomplishments of the Community-Based Neighborhood Intervention:

• Two neighborhood community organizers (NCO’s) and one environmental policy community organizer and a half-time administrative assistant were hired.  All community organizers received an orientation to the project and attended training sessions on the topics of community organizing, community leadership, and environmental justice.  Documentation forms were developed to track all organizing activities.
• A Fact Sheet about the new community organizing component was created, mailed to all families, and is used whenever an overview of the project was requested.
• The community organizers interviewed key community informants about environmental health issues affecting the community in an effort to learn about local priorities and issues and as a first step toward creating an interorganizational network (I.N.) Responses were summarized and fed back to those who participated.
• Family members of CAAA were invited to work on these identified issues through a newsletter with a volunteer interest form enclosed.  CAAA hopes to link families up with organizing efforts already underway in Detroit.
• A Southeastern Michigan Environmental Coordinating group has been established and meets periodically and has targeted illegal dumping as on issue to work on.
• CAAA also co-sponsored a Detroit Mayoral Forum on environmental issues and has participated in several public hearings and community meetings about environmental issues as they relate to air quality.
• The CAAA Steering Committee selected two community organizing issues to begin work on:  the Detroit Intermodal Freight Terminal (DIFT) and the Time Transfer Station (TTS), both of which could have a negative impact on air quality in Detroit.