———
Seattle, WA
———
Washington, DC
Introduction to Safe and Healthy Children Initiative
Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) has partnered with Health Outreach Partners and the Academy for Educational Development (AED) to launch the Safe and Healthy Children Initiative, a pilot project funded by the WK Kellogg Foundation that seeks to address environmental health concerns among migrant and seasonal farmworker children. The project will initially be launched in Michigan and Florida but offers a unique opportunity to bring awareness to Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs and Migrant and Community Health Centers across the country.
The goals of the Initiative are as follows:
-
Address the health disparities and environmental injustices faced by children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers by implementing an education and prevention program intended to reduce exposure to chemicals and environmental hazards that can cause learning and developmental disabilities, cancer, asthma, allergies, and other respiratory illnesses.
-
Build on the knowledge, awareness, and ability of clinicians, outreach workers, and teachers to better identify environmental threats to children’s health, then employ strategies (such as providing tools and resources for parents to protect their families against environmental hazards) to reduce exposures.
-
Mobilize physicians and other health professionals to advocate for environmental policies that decrease children’s exposures to environmental pollutants and toxic chemicals.