Our Coalitions
THEA only succeeds when the people who are at risk from Superfund Sites succeed. That’s why we help organize coalitions of stakeholders and empower them to be advocates for their own health and safety. We use a three -pronged approach.
How THEA’s Coalitions Work
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You discover you are exposed to dangerous chemicals in your water or land. What now?
For the 73 million Americans who live within three miles of a Superfund Site, that is a frightening reality.
THEA’s first step is to build Environmental Health Literacy (EHL) in a community by giving residents accurate information so they can clearly understand their risk, and their rights.
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As individuals, residents lack the power to create change. As a coalition they can speak truth to power. That’s what American civic engagement is built on.
THEA helps organize grassroots coalitions to stand up for their rights to health and environmental justice.
We sweat the details, tracking the complex twists and turns of the cleanup process and we find just the right opportunities for them to be heard at every level of government.
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We understand the importance of the media and its ability to ignite action. We also know how important credibility is when it comes to working with reporters and editors.
THEA has spent years developing trusting relationships with local and national media. We don’t make over-the-top claims or demands. We provide the facts, not opinions, and we shine a light on the human stories behind those facts.
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San Jacinto River Coalition
For nearly four decades, dioxin and other cancer-causing chemicals flowed freely from the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site into the river.
Under THEA’s leadership, the coalition collected 55,000 petition signatures, and the EPA has ordered a full remediation for the site.
The coalition continues to push the EPA to remove the source of the chemicals so that the ecosystem and community can heal.
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Cypress Community Coalition
Bell Dry Cleaners employees had a problem. Where to dispose of vinyl chloride, PERC and other highly toxic from its business on Jones Road in Cypress? Their solution was to dump it behind the strip mall and in a nearby drainage canal.
Now, with THEA’s help, residents are pushing the EPA to clean up the Jones Road Ground Water Plume Superfund Site that continues to expand beneath their homes.
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Northeast Houston Coalition
Decades of environmental injustice have resulted in the Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens becoming a cancer cluster that is home to three known Superfund Sites and a railyard contaminated with creosote that is spreading into the surrounding groundwater.
THEA is working closely with coalition members, other nonprofits and local officials to overcome years of neglect in a collaborative, holistic approach.