A World War II-era Linda Vista home being remediated for lead-based paint was the backdrop today for the official presentation of a $2.48 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) to the San Diego Housing Commission. It will help SDHC and its partners, that includes Environmental Health Coalition, continue our "Home Safe Home" program, which will test homes for lead-based paint and remove the hazard to protect children from lead poisoning.

This grant will allow 175 additional homes to be tested for lead-based paint hazards, and 135 to be remediated over the next three years. Additionally, four blood testing events reaching 500 low-income children will be held at select schools and communities by Environmental Health Coalition and conducted by La Maestra Community Health Center. The San Diego Housing Commission purchased the blood analyzers through the "Home Safe Home" program.

Additionally, 150 low-income households will receive "Healthy Homes" assessments for such problems as rodents, roaches, dust mites, mold and moisture and poor indoor air quality.

This week, KPBS recognized EHC’s Executive Director Diane Takvorian as its environmental sustainability community hero. 

For more than 37 years, Diane has empowered community members living in low-income neighborhoods of color.

She credits her passion for social justice to her own family’s struggles that stretch back to the early 1900s. Her grandparents survived the Armenian Genocide in 1915 and came to the United States two years later. Diane and her parents lived in Pasadena, where she says she experienced some discrimination because of her ethnic background.

As the founder and executive director of Environmental Health Coalition, Diane now dedicates every day to ensuring we all know the power of our voice to influence decisions that bring environmental justice to the people that need it most. Diane believes that every person has the right to a healthy and safe place to live, work and play -- and so do we.

Congratulations, Diane.

Want to keep reading about our hero? Click here to see the full story. Want to keep up with Diane? Follow her on Twitter.

Environmental Health Coalition stands in solidarity with the people of Charlottesville and everywhere who stand on the side of justice in the face of hate.

The bigotry, hate and violence by white supremacists in Charlottesville and encouraged by our president, underscores the urgency of our movement for justice and democracy. We know that to combat hate, we have to build long-lasting, sustainable people-powered movements.

That means growing the power of everyday people to build and defend vibrant and free communities.

EHC leaders organize every day in the most challenging and dangerous circumstances – from human rights abuses to environmental and public health assaults.

Living in the most polluted neighborhoods in the San Diego/Tijuana region, our leaders stand up to environmental racism with grace, determination grit and persistence.

Every year, EHC celebrates our members and leaders at a community picnic. This Saturday, August 19, we will do so again. Kids will play, parents will share stories and we will all be grateful for a moment to enjoy each other.

This year we will also observe a moment of silence for those we lost in the struggle for justice – those who died, those who were torn from their families by deportation, those who suffer from illnesses and those who live in fear.

We invite you all to join EHC as we celebrate and mourn and restore ourselves to fight again. Please join us.

SALTA provides community leaders with skill-building training in community organizing, policy advocacy and effective communication.

From mothers who envision a healthier future for their children, to community advocates that want to gain new tools to be leaders in their own neighborhoods, our SALTA graduates now have the skills necessary to move our region toward environmental justice.

The 2017 class reminds us that every one of us is a leader, and leadership is best cultivated from the ground up. Congratulations to all our community leaders and graduates – we’re very proud of you and look forward to all that we will achieve together. #IamEJ #YoSoyEJ

Want to keep reading about our leaders? Click here to read more incredible stories.

Alicia Sanchez, a National City resident, came to an EHC community meeting nine years ago to learn about a proposed affordable housing project. She left inspired and determined to make the project a reality. This April, Alicia stood proudly at the grand opening of 201 affordable housing units in her neighborhood.

Every one of us is environmental justice. We may not know what challenges lie ahead, but with your help, our community leaders – our heroes – will be ready. Please donate today.

June 20 was a very important day – San Diego City Council proclaimed Tuesday, June 20, 2017 as Diane Takvorian Day.

When she was 11 years old, Diane Takvorian, Environmental Health Coalition’s executive director, was asked to interview someone in a career she admired. She chose a social worker. In high school, she got involved in the civil rights movement and by college she was organizing communities.

Diane has been a powerhouse in driving environmental justice for our communities for more than 37 years. She has dedicated her life to shedding light on our most vulnerable neighborhoods with the unwavering belief that everyone should have a healthy and safe place to live, work and play.

Thank you to everyone who joined us at Por Vida to celebrate and congratulate Diane. If you couldn’t make it, we invite you to make a contribution to EHC and become a member today. Your donation empowers EHC to lift up others to become leaders for environmental justice, just like Diane.

If I had to summarize the SALTA 20-Year Reunion in three words, I would say empowered, united and ready.

The energy at the reunion was powerful. I saw some old and some new SALTA graduates from so many different pockets of our communities. Every person felt engaged in what SALTA has taught us and wanted to share how it helped each of us to develop the leadership tools and refine the qualities we already possessed to become effective leaders. 

I'm of the opinion that SALTA doesn't make leaders --  instead, it helps those of us that are leaders realize what we have within us to create change. It teaches us how to take the appropriate action and gives us the platform to get started. 

Because of SALTA, I feel empowered to lead my community of City Heights toward a happier, healthier and safer future. In doing so, I know I'm not alone, and others like me walk beside me in the fight for environmental justice.

Mahalo, 

Roddy Jerome

City Heights Resident

EHC Board Member

My name is Georgette Gomez.

While many of you may know me as your Councilwoman Elect for District 9, here are a few things you may not know about me.

I grew up in Barrio Logan.
The culture and the community shaped me into a person passionate about everyone’s right to a healthy community.

I started working at Environmental Health Coalition 13 years ago.
During that time, I have seen hundreds of my friends and neighbors graduate from SALTA, EHC’s leadership training program. I even participated in and facilitated SALTA myself.

SALTA taught me that leadership comes in all forms and is essential to our communities.
The parents next door who raise their voice about toxic pollution are just as much leaders as city councilmembers. Every person has a story to tell and an individual path to making change. SALTA ignites the power that already exists within them.

I believe in a future of leaders united for justice.
Right now, you can help EHC build a generation of community leaders committed to healthy, safe and toxic-free neighborhoods.

Donate to EHC today and invest in our future.

My name is Leticia Ayala.

Twenty-one years ago, I graduated from college and moved to San Diego in search of a job that would allow me to serve the Latino community. I found EHC where I discovered my life’s passion of bringing health and smiles to children and their families.

I was one of the first SALTA graduates.
Hungry to learn more about EHC’s work, I joined SALTA, EHC’s leadership development program. Little did I know that I would become the coordinator of the program a few years later.

In 20 years, I’ve seen thousands of SALTA graduates reclaim the word “leader.”
Through SALTA, community members learn that you can take action to make your community a healthier place – with or without a title.

Please donate today.

I speak on behalf of past and future SALTA graduates when I say thank you for your contribution to our movement that empowers leaders.

My name is Carolina Gamez and I am 22 years old.

My neighborhood, Colonia Chilpancingo in Tijuana, has struggled with high levels of air pollution for as long as I can remember.

SALTA, EHC's leadership development program, helped me realize the power of my own voice.
I joined SALTA to learn about the environmental issues in my community, but I got so much more than I bargained for. I found out that all of the inspiring leaders I met had started just like me – as concerned residents looking for change and willing to do the hard work.

Will you empower leaders like me?
SALTA taught me that every good leader listens to the needs and opinions of the people they lead. Your donation shows that you support us and helps us bring environmental justice to us all.