New Ventures Refugees and Immigrants Environmental Justice Partnership
The Center, together with partners Coalition for a Better Acre and Lowell Community Health Center, has funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to strengthen environmental health research and applications that will improve the health of refugees and immigrants.
The project is designed to identify common concerns across very different newcomer groups and then find ways to address these environmental health concerns. Throughout New Ventures, we organize our effort into four areas: 1) sharing our innovations with others 2) expanding the partnership 3) expanding the work with youth 4) universities becoming better partners.
Asthma Awareness Coalition of Greater Lowell
CFWC facilitates the Asthma Awareness Coalition of Greater Lowell to assist in the development of stronger programs to deal with the epidemic of pediatric asthma in our community. The coalition meets monthly, carries out trainings and supports the development of a wide range of initiatives.
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Cambodian Family Asthma Project
In addition to our existing partners we added, the UMass Lowell College of Health, Department of Nursing. CFWC staff and Lowell Community Health Center staff are working with faculty in the College of Health, Department of Nursing to gather information on the ways in which Cambodian families address the pressing problem of asthma within their families. Increasingly providers are describing their frustrations at not being able to provide adequate services for diverse families. This initiative is intended to look at needs from the perspective of the families rather than the providers so that service provision can be redesigned. Interviews with 30 Cambodian families (who have children with asthma) are currently being conducted at the LCHC clinics as well as the Metta Center on Jackson St.
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The "asthma house display" is meant to illustrate the variety of asthma triggers in typical households. While there are common elements present in the homes of many cultures, there are clearly some items that are more likely to be present in houses set up to reflect cultural practices of particular ethnic groups. The asthma house has been displayed at the Healthy Homes Event held on World Asthma Day as well as many other community sites.
For more information about the New Ventures Partnership contact Linda Silka or Khan Chao.
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