Environmental Justice
In the spring of 2022, social work students addressed the topic of environmental justice as part of Adelphi’s Social Action Initiative.
Climate change has a significant impact on public health, and social workers have an opportunity to advocate for environmental justice in their communities and across the globe. Through this Social Action Initiative, student groups collaborated on projects capturing the shared interests of group members while also addressing the overarching theme of environmental justice.
BIPOC Populations
This presentation will provide an exposition on the topic of environmental racism as illustrated by the disproportionately negative effects of pollution on BIPOC populations. According to Bullard, “Environmental racism refers to any policy, practice, or directive that differentially affects or disadvantages (whether intended or unintended) individuals, groups, or communities based on race or color.” Communities primarily made up of BIPOC populations are more likely to be affected by exposure to unsafe levels of pollution, which can have adverse effects on physical, mental, and developmental health. This project will explore the effects of exposure to four types of pollution (water, air, biological, and noise) and how they contribute to the health inequities experienced by BIPOC populations. Water pollution occurs when harmful materials or substances are introduced into a body of water. It can cause diseases such as cholera, dysentery, and Hepatitis A, and has been linked to cancer, respiratory diseases, and cardiovascular diseases.
Air pollution refers to the release of pollutants that are detrimental to human health into the air. Exposure can increase the severity of allergies, asthma, and bronchitis. It can damage the immune, nervous, circulatory, and endocrine systems, affect fetal brain development, and impact children’s IQ and ability to learn. Biological pollution occurs when contaminants from living organisms are introduced into the environment. These pollutants release toxins that can be harmful to the body’s organs and tissues can cause allergic reactions such as coughing, congestion, and skin rashes, and can lead to severe, life-threatening asthma attacks. Noise pollution is caused by unsafe levels of environmental noise, usually generated by mechanized sources. It has been linked to hypertension, sleep problems, hearing loss, developmental delays, psychiatric disorders, and loss of memory. The Council for Social Work Education Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards states “Environmental justice occurs when all people equally experience high levels of environmental protection and no group or community is excluded from the environmental policy decision-making process, nor is affected by a disproportionate impact from environmental hazards.”
As social workers, we consider our clients’ well-being from a person-in-environment perspective. The physical ecosystem in which our clients exist impacts their overall well-being and thus is a fundamental concern of the profession of social work. A stark example of health inequities experienced by BIPOC populations is the significantly higher COVID-19 death rates within BIPOC communities, which have been linked to exposure to higher levels of air pollution. Social workers have a duty to ensure the fundamental human rights of all persons to safety and an adequate standard of living. This project is a call to action for social workers. We must educate the public about the issues of environmental racism and health inequities. We must engage in advocacy and activism directed toward public officials and private corporations. We must collaborate with affected BIPOC persons to learn from their stories and empower them so their voices are heard. Environmental justice is social justice; hence, it is our commitment as social workers to champion against environmental disparities harming vulnerable BIPOC populations.
In our social action project, we decided to write a letter to Senator Zellnor Myrie who is a Brooklyn native that has a major interest in social justice and equity in the BIPOC community. We focused on how gentrification can be viewed as an environmental injustice and how it is stigmatizing in these communities thus affecting the access to and knowledge of mental health resources. Each group member interviewed a few individuals across different age ranges as a way to identify commonalities of how gentrification affected their mental health.
Children
The focus of our group project is water contamination, specifically lead contamination. We focused on this because millions of children drink from the school’s water fountain and there needs to be awareness of the effects of contaminated water. We aimed to bring awareness not only to parents, and the community but also to schools. Clean, uncontaminated drinking water should be a right for children. School social workers are being called on to advocate for their schools and bring awareness about getting the filters cleaned regularly and provide children with free water bottles.
The focus of our project was to show the effects of how air pollution is affecting our kids and their development. The intended audience for our project was local leaders and advocates for the children.
Raise awareness about Obesity and Chemicals in children via Instagram.
We focused on the impact of air pollution on children ages k through 5. We talked about the effects of fossil fuels impact on a child’s brain and behavior which includes education, learning, attention span, and social skills. We interviewed two parents of grade school children to identify the different effects of air pollution based on residential location. Our goal was to educate and reinforce awareness of environmental injustice in our communities. During this conversation, we were able to discuss possible solutions and hear first-hand experiences. Our hope is that our guests left informed enough to educate others.
We interviewed students who come from various backgrounds and live in different communities to get a sense of how diverse their views are and the extent of their knowledge on the topics discussed. Several of our group members interviewed students between the ages of 12 and 18 to get their perspectives on climate change and food insecurity in today’s world.
The rate of Asthma is substantially higher in the Bronx in children than in that of any other borough in New York City. This poster will explore the correlation between access to clean air and asthma in the Bronx. It will also help to explore and understand how access to affordable and local healthcare is a factor in this equation. Lastly, different ideas that can promote social change as it pertains to this issue will be presented. Social workers keep their ethical responsibilities by advocating for policies and practices that can help people adapt to a changing climate, develop sustainable communities, and prevent environmental damage caused by human activities (National Association of Social Workers, n.d.). The issue of environmental justice for children impacts social work practice in the medical domain because certain populations tend to have more health concerns due to the effects of pollution in their areas. Parents often lack information and knowledge of the effects on how it can harm their children and themselves. Social workers can help by providing education, promoting change, and building resilience in the populations we work with (National Association of Social Workers, n.d.). According to social-ecological theory, social change has better outcomes when there are multiple strategies all working as a system towards the same goal to reduce the amount of transportation that burns fossil fuels. By reducing the amount we hope to see improvements in not only the amount of air pollution but also reduce the number of children with asthma in urban areas in New York. The goal is to promote energy-saving transportation including bicycles and electric cars. On the individual level; awareness and information should be provided to communities about air pollution. Educate on the issue, effects, and solutions of air pollution. Elevate and encourage those whose voices aren’t being heard or whose needs aren’t being met (National Association of Social Workers, n.d.). On the community level; people are encouraged to use more public transportation, bikes, and carpooling. Encourage conserving energy, recycling, and taking action to solve the issue at hand.
On a societal level, we have broken that into two sections; environmental and policy. For the environmental part, we want more recyclable garbage bins on the streets right next to regular garbage cans to be available to promote recycling. To see more campaigns on public transportation to promote taking action to promote change to help with air pollution. As for policy, we want to see making it mandatory to have recycling stations in each neighborhood in New York City. We want the government to aim for excellent living standards and national revenues, as well as access to non-solid fuel and electricity as energy sources and natural resources that are sustainable (National Association of Social Workers, n.d.). As for our own ideas to improve the air pollution for children in urban areas; electric cars in urban areas to have more charging ports as a way to encourage people to buy electric cars, providing more bicycles in more urban areas to encourage people to drive less, promoting solutions to help with the air pollution, and educating as many as possible of air pollution and its effects they are unaware of.
The date of our Twitter event was April 6, 2022. Advertisement for the event was shared on members’ social media platforms as well as sent to other students in the social work program. A graphic was created to aid in advertising the vent (see attached).
With the topic of environmental justice and our focus being on children, we decided to organize a fundraising campaign for a nonprofit addressing this issue. After much research, our group agreed on Alley Pond for the nonprofit organization. Alley Pond is an environmental center that offers several nature-oriented programs educating children in the New York City area. Its mission is to preserve and protect Alley Pond Park and the surrounding bodies of water, as well as to advocate for environmental practices and policies. Alley Pond Environmental Center has over 635 acres which consist of forests, ponds, meadows, and marshes which are home to 300+ species of wildlife and birds. Here, visitors are able to explore the trails, observe the plants and animals, and connect with nature. Our decision for choosing this nonprofit organization was based on the importance of increased environmental justice and awareness, and access to nature for children, especially in a busy city where such access can be limited.
The purpose of our fundraiser is to raise both awareness and funds which will aid in helping children attend one of the many environmental education programs that Alley Pond has to offer. We collectively created flyers to support our fundraiser, including one main flyer containing all of the information regarding the campaign and two additional flyers. There was also another flyer that was created for an upcoming event at Alley Pond: Step Up and Speak Up Earth Week Celebration Session. This flyer will also be used to increase environmental awareness and direct viewers to the donation link. Each of these flyers was sent over to Alley Pond and will be posted periodically over the next week, both on Alley Pond’s social media pages as well as on each group member’s personal social media accounts. We will be tagging Alley Pond and @AdelphiSW in our posts and use the hashtag #AdelphiSocialAction2022. The fundraiser will run from Friday, April 8th through Monday, April 18th. We are hopeful that these campaigns will raise awareness for environmental justice through Alley Pond, and encourage donations for such an incredible cause.
Health
Our group researched and designed a poster providing information on the impact of air pollution on health. The driving theme of our project was that social workers can improve environmental justice through advocacy, social action, and awareness. Air pollution is a human-made problem and can be mitigated and prevented through social action and education. Our project also highlights that environmental inequalities exist where there are unequal exposures for the disadvantaged and people of color. The intended audience is for social workers to understand the impact of air pollution on health as social injustice, which we as social workers must challenge according to the NASW Code of Ethics.
The focus of this poster project was to bring awareness to the effects of air pollution on children, specifically the BIPOC population. More specifically, asthma is present as a result of air pollution. The intended audience of this project is not only social workers, but also people in powerful positions such as legislators and educators, and also the general public. Social workers need to be aware of this health concern and environmental aspect in order to be educated for their clients and work towards effectively improving this issue. People in power, such as legislators, need to be aware of this issue so that they can make educated decisions surrounding environmental justice. Educators need to be aware of this issue so that children and students are aware of what is occurring around them and how they can be affected by this. It is important for the general public, especially the BIPOC population so that they are aware of and educated on the ramifications of living around pollutants. This may also result in people feeling empowered to stand together and voice the need for the improvement of living conditions.
Group 9 created a poster presentation titled New York State Green Spaces and Physical Health: Why Social Workers Should Care. The focus was to begin a conversation on green spaces at the intersection of physical health, environmental justice, and social justice. The intended audience was social workers who may not have begun to think critically about how green spaces do and do not impact the physical health of individuals in the neighborhoods who can access them. The poster was presented during the 2nd Annual Virtual Ecological Justice and Social Work conference.
Our group struggled a bit with locating a local organization to work with because the first we had begun to work with decided our project did not fit the needs of their organization so we were forced to locate another project on short notice. We spoke with the New York Marine Rescue Center located in Riverhead. The staff there gave us information to spread awareness of the environmental impacts of water pollution, human interaction with sea animals, and moving the focus of protection towards the communities that are impacted by the conditions of beaches and water. Speaking with this agency allowed the opportunity to dispense information regarding these needs within the communities. This agency makes efforts to fundraise and rescue marine animals such as turtles, small tooth whales, seals, and others that are in need of support. Our group also created social media posts to distribute to the public and bring awareness. The agency is the only agency in New York state that operates in this way and is responsible for caring for animals in many regions. The agency offered our group opportunities to share donation links, Amazon wishlists, and even phone numbers to help engage the larger communities to work with this group. Our group focused on the chances to bring awareness to the needs of the animal life and in turn reflect on how helping animals within our communities helps us as humans as well. Raising awareness of poor beach conditions and the impact that humans have on the beach communities, also shows that some aspects of these environments are neglected by human care. Humans defacing beaches or negatively impacting animal life shows that humans have no regard for the people living near these areas or the water and environmental resources that they intake. The project helped to bring our own awareness to this agency working on environmental justice in our own neighborhoods. This also helped to reveal the ways in which we can disperse important information so people begin to care more about the environments they live and work in. Our posts, hashtag, and images can be viewed in the assignment below.
Our posts, hashtag, and images can be viewed in the following assignment:
Group 54’s social action project was a social media campaign called #Climahealth. We created an Instagram account called Climahealth where we share information with clickable links to our findings. Our topic is climate change and its long-term negative effect on respiratory health. Without more proactive actions to manage climate change, there will continue to be an increase in poor health outcomes for many individuals, especially those who already suffer from diseases such as asthma. We decided on a social media campaign to raise awareness and inspire action around climate change and its harmful effects on respiratory health. We created a detailed advocacy letter for everyone to sign and send to their local legislators discussing climate change and related health issues. Some topics touched on in the letter include how climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of floods, droughts, heatwaves, and blizzards. Changes in meteorological parameters substantially increase respiratory morbidity and mortality in adult patients with chronic lung diseases such as asthma, COPD, and other serious lung diseases. The letter also presents action steps needed from our legislators including support for the H.R.794 – Climate Emergency Act of 2021 that directs the President to declare a national emergency relating to climate. Lastly, we created a live petition to help spread awareness of the harmful effects climate change has on respiratory health, and how this leads to worsened health outcomes for everyone, especially those with pre-existing conditions such as asthma.
Housing
The focus of our project is on housing and transportation, we all agreed that this subject is important and decided to proceed. In addition, we emphasize the topic of environmental justice and how the physical environment, specifically in our case transportation and housing, can make struggling neighborhood conditions even worse. We identified three important and problematic issues, three solutions for those issues, and three calls to action items to improve the presented issues. The three issues identified are, Isolation of households without transportation and the high cost of living for households close to transportation, the impact of facilities on low-income neighborhoods, and Social Impacts, there are social impacts related to the incidence of crashes and pedestrian accidents and deaths that are concentrated in these neighborhoods.
This poster demonstrates how transportation has a negative impact on different types of communities and the solutions and calls to action to help resolve these problems. Our audience is anyone affected by this, however, mostly community leaders. Policies, improvement, and change can only happen if the items are approved by community leaders. A plan should be developed to address transportation concerns, transportation is a means of life, the connection between us and our needs for anything away from our home.
The focus of our group’s video is to shed light on the impact of the environment surrounding housing in the New York area. We were lucky enough to have met many great individuals with expert opinions on this matter.
The focus of our social action project was to highlight housing injustices, privileges, struggles, and challenges in New York. also included a segment highlighting the differences between housing in the 80s, 90s, and present day. Our focus for our podcast was to interview different residents of New York state. Guests share their stories while discussing their experiences on topics such as gentrification, workforce development, homelessness, sustainability, the American Dream, and much more. The group’s intended audience are the individuals who are responsible for housing in NYC, governors, councils, and community boards. Some students shared their own housing stories as a result were able to gain a better understanding of how housing has made an impact on their lives. Sharing the stories of others and our own stories became significant to our topic. Through these conversations, we illustrated how housing affects the quality of life and in turn, how it can impact an individual’s ability to lead a successful and safe life.
Immigrants and Refugees
Our focus is on minority undocumented and documented immigrants such as Mexicans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, Salvadorians, adults, and children coming from other parts of the world to the United States. These Immigrants have crossed the border because of personal or political persecution, to escape gang violence, to look for education, and to reunite with their family members in a new country. Thus, our mission with this project is to address the Environmental issues immigrants have to go through while on their journey and currently living in the United States. The intended audience for this poster is attendees of the Adelphi “Vital Connections” Environmental Justice Virtual Conference and those who wish to learn more about the barriers to reaching environmental justice, the impact the environment has on vulnerable populations, and how to create change at the Micro, Macro and Mezzo social work level. Lastly, the efforts to disseminate the project are the usage of the ecological system theory, the social impact assessment (SIA), the health impact assessment (HIA), the Environmental Quality Act, and On-site Social Workers helping through the usage of environmental resources knowledge, therapeutic support, coordination of programs, legal representation, community presentations and pushing towards Ending policies such as The Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP).
The question of environmental justice for immigrants and refugees has been widely debated in the field of social work with Research articles from scholars T. Collins, A. Jimenez, and S.Grinseki arguing that flood disasters have disproportionately affected Hispanics and their health disparities. Researchers assessed the health impacts of the disaster on 475 Hispanic individuals in El Paso, Texas during a flood in 2006, whose homes were flood-damaged using mail survey data and logistic regression. Difficult event experiences, older age, and lower socioeconomic status were addressed and associated with negative post-flood health outcomes (Collins et al., 2012). Our goal in this project was to bring to light the disaster effects faced by immigrants, especially in the Hispanic community in the United States.
The video is a visual journey that intends to provoke curiosity about the uneven consequences Climate change has on the immigrant and undocumented farming community. Reasons for the journey are often sparked by the effects of global Heating on the southern lands of the American Continents. Once relocated, farmers often encounter really challenging working conditions and no membership protections. The video intends for viewers to think further about the global responsibility we all have to each other when it comes to Global Heating which goes beyond borders but is unjustly tied to them.
Our group’s focus was environmental justice for immigrant/refugee populations. We used a combination of various resources to create 12 informative Instagram posts. Group members had the liberty to choose their own environmental topic so long as it was focused on its effects on immigrant/refugee communities across the world. Collectively, our posts educated our followers about water pollution, immigration detention centers, air quality, climate change, migrant workers and communities, biocapacity, and ecological footprints. We had no intended audience, but we shared our posts across our personal pages for more engagement and exposure. We decided to endorse Peace Corps for donations on our posts, specifically to their municipal development fund which aims to “increase their civic engagement and ultimately their overall economic development” (Peace Corps).
Students for Change sat down and conducted an in-depth interview with Elsie Saint Louis, CEO of (HAUP) Haitians United for Progress to discuss the plight of Haitain migration and the Environmental Justice Issues that have caused great distress and marginalization. During this conversation, Ms. Saint Louis highlighted the injustices and lack of resources and support available to help the Hatian population. Our hopes are that our listeners gain insight into valuable opportunities in how they can lend assistance towards this cause.
LGBTQIA+ Populations
We worked to analyze the potential impact of air pollution on LGBTQ+ communities in four different USA states; Vermont, New York, Alabama, and Pennsylvania. We looked at which states have high rates of air pollution, and how those high rates can have disproportionate impacts on homeless LGBTQ+ communities. A lack of environmental justice will have severe impacts on the social support many communities have come to count on. States that provide minimal support to their LGBTQ+ communities will continue to see a disproportionate impact on this vulnerable population, which may correlate with increased numbers of LGBTQ+ homeless.
By comparing four US states (two liberal and two conservatives) and by examining possible correlations between available support and additional homelessness, we seek to identify a ground-level intervention for social workers to increase resiliency and support the LGBTQ+ population from the interpersonal impacts of climate change. Our intended audience for this poster is anyone passionate about the LGBTQ+ community and/or environmental justice, regardless of professional status.
Our project focuses on environmental justice for LGBTQ+ populations. Specifically, it looks at unstable housing affecting LGBTQ+ populations, hence the title. We look at how climate change and natural disasters, in turn, negatively affect all populations but disproportionately affect LGBTQ+ populations. It being a marginalized group means that there needs to be safe spaces for its people. We look at the reasons that LGBTQ+ populations are at higher risks, such as being kicked out of their homes, creating homelessness, and unemployment. Therefore, natural disasters increase unstable housing for them. Lastly, we see how existing programs, such as the SAFE Housing project, have already done a great job at helping LGBTQ+ populations.
The intended audience are local communities, to start off with, and then policymakers, to help create safer spaces for them. By addressing local communities, they can directly put efforts forward to assist these populations, regardless of environmental justice. At the same time, policymakers can help with unstable housing for this marginalized group, as well as address environmental justice that affects groups such as the LGBTQ+ community disproportionately. Targeting them will help disseminate this project, which is more so a project of projects; multiple actions can be done throughout different communities.
Our group focused on climate change and how it impacts the LGBTQ+ community. We focused on different components such as health, agriculture and nutrition, and sexual reproduction. We created a call to action in hopes to bring awareness to the intersectionality of LGBTQ+ youth and how they are being impacted by climate change. We created a social media platform on Instagram created and posted content of graphic designs and research information on the LGBTQ+ community. Additionally, we created an online petition calling people to action to participate in a community cleanup to do something within their environment. In which we asked individuals to volunteer 3 hours of their time before Earth Day 2022, at their own time and convenience.
Through this petition, people will not only be contributing to cleaning their environment, enabling a sense of self-determination and self-efficacy for those who feel like climate change is out of their control. To disseminate the campaign message, our group created a social media account, on Instagram, to which we all had access, and shared through our professional and personal lives. We used the hashtag #queeringenvironmentaljustice along with additional hashtags such as #lgbtq and #lgbtqyouth, to help spread the information. Additionally, a Change.org petition was created to be posted and shared to our social media for followers to sign and share with others.
Our group’s intended focus is to bring awareness to the LGBTQ+ population when discussing environmental issues. This vulnerable population already endures discrimination in many other aspects, so it is no surprise that they are overlooked regarding this issue. We aim our work to notify the general public of the disparities found in housing, healthcare, and employment when faced with natural disasters. In order to bring attention to the presented concern of the LGBTQ+ population and environmental issues, we have created an informative conference poster to be displayed at the Adelphi “Vital Connections” Environmental Justice Virtual Conference.
Mental Health
For the social action initiative, our poster focused on the impact of climate change on both mental and physical health. Disasters caused by climate change significantly increase the likelihood of experiencing psychological trauma. The onset of this trauma is due to personal injury, harm to or death of a loved one, damage to or loss of personal property, loss of pets, and sudden disruptions to daily life. Climate-induced natural disasters also cause a significant increase in the development of various mental health disorders. Yet, the devastating impact of climate change extends beyond just mental health. In reality, climate change impacts both mental and physical health. In essence, it takes a significant toll on the overall well-being of individuals.
Distress experienced from climate change-induced disasters significantly reduces the immune system which increases the likelihood of developing physical conditions. Yet, the devastating effects of climate change do not impact all races the same. In reality, marginalized populations are more likely to be exposed to climate change-induced disasters. Consequently, these populations continue to developmental disorders and physical conditions at higher rates (in comparison to Caucasians). Our poster highlights the need for legislative change in order to address this social issue that is disproportionately affecting races. The target audience is the general public as well as policymakers/legislators. Public support is paramount in creating this necessary change.
Group 14’s project included a poster and abstract titled: “The Fight for Environmental Justice and Mental Health.” The main focal points of the project were to have the poser depict the effects of climate change on the mental health of human beings across the globe. The poster in it itself tells a story with the help of a narrated voiceover. Key topics include an introduction to what environmental justice is and its history.; those most affected by climate change and the impacts of it on particularly marginalized population’s mental health statuses: and finally connecting the mental health implications to social work, and how social workers can take a proactive approach to address the challenges of climate change in an effort to fight the effects on mental health.
Our group chose to discuss the role redlining has played in creating food insecurity which leads to mental health issues. The environment in which we live also affects the quality of our diet as well as our mental health. Redlining has created environments within equitable living conditions, including having an important role in creating food deserts. Food deserts are areas where access to foods that are healthy and high in nutritional value is severely limited.
Neighborhoods most affected by redlining were those that housed predominantly BIPOC populations. Redlining has not only created environments with inequitable living conditions but has also led to the development of supermarket redlining creating food desserts. supermarket redlining is when supermarkets intentionally refuse to build in urban neighborhoods and will often relocate already existing stores to suburban areas, which contributes to food insecurity. individuals in low-income, densely populated neighborhoods have more access to cheaper food options that are usually highly processed and lack nutritional value.
A consequence of supermarket redlining is that it helps create food deserts. Food deserts promote food insecurity. Food insecurity is a psychosocial stressor that affects people both physically and mentally. Because of the lack of resources available to low-income families, They are forced to eat cheap and readily available foods with little to no nutritional value. The lack of nutrients and highly processed foods contribute negatively to mental health problems. About 23.5 million people live in low-income, food desert areas. This is about 8.4 % of the U.S. population. Studies have shown that the lack of accessibility and affordability of nutritionally dense foods leads to psychological anguish, including shame, depression, and anxiety for those who live in redlined districts. Redlining has led to a disproportionate amount of the BIPOC population inhabiting impoverished environments, creating barriers and challenges that contribute significantly to the deterioration of their physical and mental health. The poster will be presented at the Economic Justice Conference which we intend to capture the attention of social workers that work with clients that live in these low SES neighborhoods.
We were assigned to do a Twitter question and answer on how air pollution affects Mental Health. Our hashtag was #EnvironmentalJustice and #EnviroMentalHealth. Our intended audience was not specific, but we wanted to gain the attention of the adult population. Although we were not effective in gaining followers, we remained active on Twitter by posting facts and questions to exhibit knowledge on the topic. We had notifications that others retweeted us and viewed our posts.
Mental health is your state of well-being. That state can be affected by any changes to your environment. Group 22 focuses on Mental health and environmental injustices. Paul and Monika Kahn were interviewed by Grady Hill. Monika Kahn is a certified grift counselor and a volunteer in the red cross. She did several deployments for disaster mental health. Paul is a licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist, and co-founder with Monika of the Zen Garden. The interview brings to light other aspects that affect one’s mental health in the environment. Poor people are more subject to environmental change because they have access to limited resources. The interview gives information on how different populations are affected in poor neighborhoods. The intended audience is everyone. The purpose of the interview is to get information out and educate people about the effects of mental health and the environment. The story was posted on StoryCorps for the audience to listen to. The effort to disseminate the project was conducting the interview to inform the audience of the effect a person-environment has on their Mental health.
Our PSA video focuses on the intersection of climate change, mental health, and social work. As a group, we decided to research how climate change affects one’s mental health, and how social workers can help. We found that hurricane season can cause many stressors, and have a negative impact on one’s mental health. Social workers can help by using their advocating skills to create and promote policies to reduce climate change. Social workers can also work with clients who feel the most at risk of feeling the negative effects of climate change and provide supportive counseling to help clients adjust to mental health conditions created by these changes. Our intended audience is those who live in hurricane-affected areas who may be experiencing poor mental health due to the stress of not knowing the damage each storm will bring, or from detrimental storms in the past.
Our Social Action 2022 project involved recording a StoryCorps.org interview and sending letters to New York State legislators about the Newburgh Water Crisis legislation. We are part of a university-wide team of students working together to address environmental justice issues that impact individuals, families, communities, and organizations. Our group focuses on the impacts the environment can have on a population’s mental health. As part of the Adelphi University School of Social Work Social Action initiative, we conducted two StoryCorps.org interviews with residents of Newburgh, NY. We learned from hearing the lived experiences of Newburgh residents as they contend with the short-term and long-ranging mental health and wellbeing impacts of “forever chemicals” in our drinking water. As residents of the Hudson Valley and Greater New York, we recognize that we are all vulnerable to the devastation of a community water crisis. Therefore, my colleagues and I have engaged in research to learn about the repercussions of the contamination, with particular attention to mental health ramifications.
Our intended focus was to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 on mental health and individuals’ environment. We came up with multiple sub-topics to research such as; food insecurity, stimulus checks, working from home, benefits, internal work stress, vaccination requirements, loss/grief/survivors guilt, and the rise in need for therapy. We found data and articles to support our ideas and worked to target a wide range of people from these categories or outside of them as well to simply bring awareness to the issue. This is a social problem which is new and we are still living in so we are still learning about its many facets therefore awareness is a good start. This twitter outreach was intended to be a platform to bring awareness and share real data/statistics to a wide range of people.
With this group, we were able to collaborate and get our information and opinions out to the public via Instagram. The group felt this was the easiest way for our project to gain exposure and be far-reaching. Our thought was that everyone uses at least one form of social media to highlight things they are passionate about so it would be a great way to spread awareness and provide education. This group disseminated information about mental health and climate change, effects of natural disasters, eco-anxiety, and SAD to name a few topics. We posted information so it was visible and provided resources to help others do their own investigating. Our main goal was exposure to allow people to start thinking about how to address the correlation between mental health and climate change and that in fact, there is indeed a connection. As a group I feel we were one cohesive voice, channeling our passion for environmental awareness and mental health.
For our project, our main focus was to show that environmental justice had a connection to mental health. Our target audience was mostly meant for young adults. Our goal was to inform our audience that your environment will shape how your mental health is affected. We used social media as our means to spread out our research and opinions. The social media platform we decided to use as Instagram. We chose Instagram because we all felt that it was the best platform to use to get the most engagement. Our main goal of this project was to show that there was a correlation between climate change and mental health. Through our research, we learned that climate change had a negative effect on mental health. One way we used Instagram to showcase this information was to post images and information to help teach others about the effect of climate change.
It can affect your physical, mental, and even community health. Climate change can affect your mental health by increasing the level of stress, anxiety, depression, and grief. Examples of climate change could be rising sea levels, air pollution, forest fires, and extreme weather conditions. These conditions take a toll on the human body and cause tremendous damage and consequences to everyone. Our group wanted to spread awareness, but we also wanted to share ways you can take care of yourself if you are experiencing climate change effects. We were able to share not only the effects of climate change but also ways to combat it by making sure you listen to your body and get help if you need it. In the end, our research was able to prove the point that a person’s environment has a big impact on their mental and physical health. The only way we can prevent these changes is to start taking better care of our planet.
Group 24 focused on Pollution and its effects on mental health. We also addressed the inequities that exist across vulnerable and marginalized populations. They are more at risk of exposure to pollution due to poor living conditions, limited access to healthcare, and other disparities. Our intended audience was focused on those in the human services and social work fields on Instagram with the hopes of bringing awareness to this often-unexplored topic.
Our group aimed to show the detrimental effects of environmental toxins and pollutants on neurodevelopment across the lifespan. We also hoped to highlight the unequal burden of these effects shouldered by various communities, such as Black and Latino families and children, and those from lower-income areas. Overall, we wanted to illustrate the role in which social workers can play in both acting as advocates for preventative intervention and also providing services and support to families and communities that have already been affected by environmental exposure. While the correlation between exposure to pollutants and the manifestation of neurodevelopment disorders is significant, we hoped to convey a message of hope in the social work profession’s ability to respond to these needs and amplify the voices of those affected.
Our group focused on the correlation between climate change and mental health. Climate change and pollution have more obvious effects on our physical health, but the mental health effects can be more subtle. This poster discusses some ways the changing environment can negatively affect the clients we serve, especially those from historically oppressed groups. As future social workers, it is our job to be competent in the areas and services we provide. Environmental justice is an important part of social work and knowledge of this subject is vital for all social workers. We emphasize the need for the social work curriculum to include how climate changes affect the vulnerable populations we serve. It should also include ways that we can intervene to lessen the stress and anxieties of our clients surrounding the impacts of climate change.
Our group project is on environmental justice and mental health, with a focus on minority groups in low-income communities (Black and Latino) and how the environment they most of the times are forced to live in is greatly affecting this individual’s mental health. We intent to promote awareness and education to this communities and to local authorities as to open their eyes on the importance of being aware of the needs and the danger that the poor environment these individuals live in, and the lack of resources is have towards their mental health.
Our conference poster outlines the connection between air pollution’s effects on children’s mental health. Air pollution is an environmental justice issue caused by social conditions that affect children’s well-being. Social workers can benefit from this introductory poster, as they have the responsibility to educate themselves on this connection and to advocate for more research, prevention, and intervention on the issue. Air pollution is one environmental justice issue out of many, and understanding the connection between environmental justice issues and individuals’ well-being can open more opportunities for knowledge and change.
Group 17’s assignment was to create a conference poster that spread awareness and provoked action regarding the topic of environmental changes affecting mental health. Our group honed in on the area of climate changing specifically creating or exacerbating mental health issues. We focused on the specific diagnoses and symptoms that can occur due to this global phenomenon.
Social work and environmental justice go hand in hand. Climate change will impact vulnerable populations in more adverse ways because they have less resources and capital compared to their more fortunate counterparts (NASW, 2020). It is our obligation as social workers to educate our clients on environmental issues that directly impact them.
Climate change exacerbates the barriers the underserved face regularly, further leaving them with a disparaging lack of economic and social resources (Caban-Aleman, 2021). These hardships result in declining physical and mental health, often presenting in the form of mental disorders such as depression, PTSD, anxiety, and what studies are coining, “ecoanxiety” (Cianconi et al., 2020). One of the ways to help with closing the gap to those that are underserved is by taking a systems approach and looking for solutions on a Macro level that put policies into place that acknowledge the effects our changing climate has on mental health (Rajah, 2021). The social work profession is at the forefront of addressing climate change and its effect on our mental health (Laurio, 2020).
Our group, group 20, conducted an expert interview with social worker La Shawn Paul. We discussed key aspects of mental health, the effects of mental health as a result of the pandemic, and what’s needed to fill the gap between mental health and environmental justice.
Our focus for this social action project was the effects of shelter displacement and uprooting due to natural disasters on the mental health of individuals impacted by them. We did research on the statistics of natural disasters such as how many people and children are affected by them, how many deaths have been caused, and how many people suffer from trauma due to natural disasters. We researched some warning signs or risk factors of people suffering from trauma from natural disasters, both children and adults. We also examined what life is like in shelters after going through these traumatic events and what they lack. The intended audience for our project goes to those who have experienced going through a natural disaster or those who know others that have. The efforts we made to disseminate our project were to create infographics with information on it from our research and to create an Instagram account as a platform to post them.
The purpose of this group’s assignment was to complete the Social Action project at Adelphi University. We broke out into small groups by working with students from all five social work campuses to promote environmental justice. More specifically, our topic was “environmental justice and mental health”, and our activity was an expert interview. We also wanted to contribute the homeless aspect to it, since that was our case manager’s area of expertise. As a group, we figured we can connect people losing their homes to such natural disasters. We were able to connect with a case manager who specializes in the homeless population. She was very receptive to answering questions and encouraging us as future social workers.
The project is on the Negative Impacts of Climate Change on Children’s Mental Health. The effects of climate on children’s health begins in utero and goes through adolescence. The effects are from acute environmental stressors like storms or floods, subacute and chronic stressors which can be heatwaves, increase range insect- borne vectors which can be lyme, environmental toxin exposure, which can be wildfires reducing agricultural yields and forced displacement which can lead to starvation, violence and war. Our intended target audience is parents, social workers, school personnel, doctors and people who work in climate change careers. The efforts to disseminate this project is through this poster. Presenting this poster to the community of social works at Adelphi will help spread the word for a change. Awareness is an important role in social action. Posting this poster on social media will help it spread awareness all over the world and to many people.
The focus of our project was to educate the masses about environmental issues and how they affect mental health. Our intended Audience would be adolescents, young adults, older adults, and other environmental activists within our local communities. Our efforts to disseminate the project has been mainly on social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter. Our main and most effective platform has been the environmental Twitter account. The account has accumulated followers and our intentions have been to upload links to articles, studies, and positive affirmations. We want our audience to stay up to date with current policies and news stories that are pertinent to climate change and mental illness. We also want to educate our followers on ways to cope and minimize stress that’s induced by negative environmental factors.
Older Adults
A group twenty-eight of Adelphi University’s 2022 Social Action Initiative, we strove to advocate on behalf of older adults. We did this by creating a poster with an audio recording which will inform our audience about the unique needs and contributions of this population during climate change related extreme weather events. Our target audience is social workers, the public and policy makers, all of whom can make a difference by advocating and voting for change. Our conference poster uses real life examples, imagery and bullet points, drawing clear connections between climate change, extreme weather events and the impact these events have on our aging population. We will use our poster to raise awareness of the issue, provide information, and inspire positive change.
Poverty
While parks offer a sustainable infrastructure and provide a low-cost resource for outdoor activities in lower-income communities, research shows disparities in the access to parks across the United States. In addition, studies indicate that lower-income communities, primarily minority populous, have parks with poorer conditions and less maintenance than parks in higher-income neighborhoods. As a result, research suggests that neglectful park maintenance leads to lower levels of participation because of the fear of safety and health concerns. Therefore, we focused on environmental justice issues in parks and playgrounds in the New York region and their impacts on disadvantaged groups for our social action project.
We found that the parks in the New York area, through various socio-demographics, had several environmental concerns based on our observations. These include poor maintenance, littering, and disparity in access as the most common themes. In addressing these concerns, we understand that the discrepancy in the care of parks in New York City is class-based, proposing to advocate for better conditions in these parks. We will highlight these park issues using a digital poster, incorporating photo images from our observations that show park pollution. We aim to achieve three goals: The first goal is to bring awareness through the digital poster to encourage conversations in vulnerable neighborhoods about park neglect and related issues around this problem. Furthermore, we will promote effective ways to maintain the parks in educational meetings.
The second goal is linked to the first goal, providing interactive and practical information to community members regarding the latest developments and expert advice about park conditions and the impact of park pollution on neighborhoods. Finally, the last goal is to increase efforts to uphold the significance of park maintenance. Together, these goals will help support macro-practice efforts in taking action to address the various declining conditions of parks.
The Flint, Michigan water crisis started in 2014, after the city changed the location of their water supply to save money. Soon after the residents realized a drastic difference within the drinking water i.e., smell, color, taste. As a result, the residents asked for additional answers as to why the water had significantly changed. Subsequently through further testing, they found dangerously increasing levels of lead within the town’s water system as well as E.coli, Coliform bacteria, and unsafe levels of TTHM (trihalomethanes.) Unfortunately, due to the town’s neglectful ways, the results of the testing came too late for many of Flint’s citizens. As many adults and children suffered lead poisoning, bodily rashes, hair loss, as well as infertility. Once officials were forced to accept the severity of their action’s county officials switched back to the original water supply. However, the change came too late. The erosion of the pipes due to the toxic lead levels left the newer water source beyond repair. The state has since provided free water filters and testing as multiple state of emergencies were initiated during this process. Following this negligent act regarding the water supply a $626 million settlement was given to help those affected. The fight for change is still in motion and the settlement in place has not been accepted by many. In the last 8 years since the Flint, Michigan water crisis began, the quality of the water has improved and the pipe replacement program is on route to be completed in 2022. Those affected by the crisis are still in the fight for fair compensation for future health related problems.
Like Flint Michigan there are many areas within the United States that have been affected, stemming from the social issue of impoverished communities. There has been proven correlation between poverty and water crisis within the United States. Our group chose to focus on presenting information about the water crisis, discussing the varying aspects that impact communities and advocating for the rights of people when it comes to the adequate water supply they deserve and ultimately are entitled to as citizens living within the U.S. Our intended audience is to reach audiences on a macro level to aid in intervention on a large scale. This is so important to target communities within the varying states within the country.
While reviewing concepts such as environmental justice and poverty, one social problem that has been highly discussed in the media over the years is access to clean drinking water. This discussion has been present in the media regarding Flint, Michigan, however there is more of a widespread social problem that goes beyond this neighborhood. Furthermore, access to clean drinking water disproportionately affects people of color, such as African-Americans and Hispanics, especially those living in low socioeconomic neighborhoods (Schaider et al., 2019). One of the main reasons that there is a high correlation of people of color who live in low socioeconomic communities is due to racially discriminatory policies known as “redlining.” Redlining has caused lasting impacts today that continue to require social action, however it is correlated to negatively impacting the health of people of color living in these neighborhoods.
Due to redlining, these neighborhoods have a lower number of accessible community resources, higher rates of cancer, and higher rates of mental illness (Huang & Sehgal, 2022). This is also tied to access to clean drinking water, as it has been stated that low socioeconomic status neighborhoods with a high number of people of color are less likely to have access to clean drinking water (New drinking water report: Communities of color more likely to suffer drinking water violations for years, 2019). When individuals and families are consuming and using unclean drinking water, it could cause cancer, infertility or fertility issues, developmental and nervous system issues, and gastrointestinal disease (Ross, 2019). There are many contaminants in the water that cause negative lasting effects, however some of the contaminants found in Flint, Michigan include lead and E. coli (Masten, Davies, & Mcelmurry, 2016). This relates to the social work practice because having clean drinking water, regardless of location or socioeconomic status, should be a human right. Additionally, accessible clean drinking water disproportionately affects people of color which further demonstrates a prevalent social problem that promotes marginalization and oppression (Schaider et al., 2019). There are several ways to enact change to promote cleaner drinking water. For example, lobbying and advocating for clean drinking water policies and for the EPA to update their primary drinking water contaminants could be useful first steps (Ross, 2019). So far, the National Association of Social Workers have attempted to assist using their micro, mezzo, and macro skills, especially while working with the residents in Flint, Michigan. The National Association of Social Workers Michigan Chapter previously created a “call for action” where social workers worked with city officials and its residents in Flint. Social workers provided their own clinical skills in crisis intervention while also attempting to get at-risk individuals and families services they need. Lastly, the National Association of Social Workers Michigan Chapter discussed the impact race and ethnicity had on the slow action Michigan has taken regarding this crisis and was seeking to advocate on the importance of this correlation (Flint water crisis: How NASW is responding, 2016).
Focus
Climate Community Investment Act (CCIA)
The CCIA adequately addresses both the health and economic disparities that impact communities of color due to pollution and climate change. This bill will reinvest in environmentally overburdened communities and will transition the state to a 100% renewable economy by 2050.
· Communities below the poverty line have a 35% higher risk of negative life consequences from air pollution than those above the poverty line.
· Black communities have a 54% higher risk of negative health consequences related to air pollution (Sierra Club).
Group 5’s project was an Instagram account that we made in order to spread awareness about Environmental Justice and Poverty. Our general theme was environmental poverty in cities across America and some of the topics we posted about included: What is environmental justice and poverty and who does it affect, the Flint Michigan water crisis, Cancer alley in Louisiana, Hurricane Katrina, Environmental Justice and Poverty in New York State and the National Environmental Policy Act. The intended audience was other social workers that could help advocate for this particular issue, as well as other influential individuals advocating for other environment-related causes.
Our efforts to disseminate the project included posting different topics that might spark interest that contained valuable information on the environment and how it related to poverty in addition to growing our following so that we could increase engagement and have educational discussions about what other efforts could be made to advocate for this cause. Initially, we had some trouble getting any traction with followers and we had hardly any engagement, but when we specifically targeted other social work students or social workers, we reached a much broader audience of people. We followed 320+ different accounts which benefits to not only get our information out there, but to also educate ourselves further.
Add to existing research about perceptions and experiences of those who experience homelessness in relation to how environmental factors compounded their experience with homelessness. Questions center around the experience of a person in poverty, intersections of health and housing, environmental exposures such as lead, air pollutants, etc, the cycle of poverty between generations, noise pollution, and troubles with accessible and clean transportation. Research and discussion pertain to the explanation of poverty, values and beliefs surrounding poverty, environmental justice, outliers in environmental justice with advocacy for inclusion, areas of intersection between poverty and environmental justice, and solutions and proposed policy recommendations.
The focus of this project was to understand the social issues of poverty and pollution and the interplay between the two. Doing this provided us with a vital opportunity to reach out and ally with the individuals who are most directly impacted by this issue. Together, we created a twitter account and a flier to highlight the impact of pollution especially in marginalized areas which culminated in a Twitter Q&A.
This project is about the idea that poverty can not be ignored when we think of environmental justice. One’s immediate environment has an impact on well being and very often oppressed communities are subject to the most negative impacts, often due to short cuts and negligence. This is most commonly seen in the areas of housing as this is the most conspicuous and most discussed when we look at poverty in general.
Social Work Practice
We interviewed Mr. Bruce Knotts, Director of the Unitarian Universalist Office at the United Nations. Mr. Knotts served in the US State Department with diplomatic assignments campaigning alongside international leaders for the elimination of discriminatory practices worldwide. As an expert on advocacy and working with human rights and climate justice issues, Mr. Knotts shared his insight on social work practice as a guiding foundational approach for environmental justice. Our focus on environmental justice, considered the interplay of social work practice, international relations, and global topics. Mr. Knotts identifies social work roles that challenge social injustices of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people and strategies to influence climate change action. All aspects of environmental justice impact housing on a micro and macro level of social work.
In exploring environmental justice, we identified categories and definitions of environmental justice and impacts, environmental justice includes: manmade and natural disasters, justice, health, and the intersectionality of public policy and economic considerations as core foundations, interplaying with environmental justice in society. Social work focuses on enhancing one’s well-being and basic needs to empower vulnerable and oppressed individuals and communities. As social workers, we work with individuals on a micro level and with communities and organizations systems on a macro level to value and honor the human experience of one’s life. The concept of environmental justice is one of equal protection in all aspects of environmental health considerations that minimize risks of inequalities in relation to race, color, national origin, economic status, sexual orientation, religious preference, and human rights considerations in relation to social and public health matter including policies, laws, programs, and societal matters (Kirst-Ashman and Hull, 2018). Social Work encompasses a code of ethics established by the National of Social Workers, which serves as a foundation of guiding principles of service, social justice, dignity, and worth of a person, the importance of human relationships, integrity, and Competence (NASW, 2022).
Social Work practice includes the comprehension and application of just environmental concepts and principles (Kirst-Ashman and Hull, 2018). Equal protection of environmental health incorporates values, and ethical and professional practice to inform, educate, advocate and promote social growth. In protecting people with risk exposure in their environments, people are empowered with inner strength and resiliency (Kirst-Ashman and Hull, 2018). Our intended audience includes those who wish to disseminate the interview including individuals, classmates, professors, professional colleagues, policymakers, legislators, community members, and anyone interested in social work and social services fields.
Our group interviewed Josh Strugatz, a healthcare executive in NYC who sits on the board for Harlem Grown.
For our project, we wanted to focus on the impacts of environmental changes on trauma for more vulnerable populations. The target audience is everyone, we didn’t make it cater to one group of people, we just wanted to raise awareness for this issue.
Social Action Project Coordinators
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PhD•LICSW•LMSW•CSW-G•QDCS
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516.877.4392
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Social Work Building 333
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PhD•MS•MSW•MPA
Contact-
516.877.4392
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Social Work Building