The Detroit Hamtramck Coalition for Advancing Healthy Environments is formerly known as the Coalition to Oppose the Expansion of US Ecology.*

We are residents and concerned allies on the east side of Detroit. Our boundaries are I-75, 6 Mile Rd, Gratiot and Mack.
We believe everyone deserves a healthy environment. But we are surrounded by industry regulated by the State of MI. Many of us suffer from cancer, asthma and lack of access to quality health care. We believe that together we can bring about change for a healthier future:
  • environmentally just laws that protect people of all ages  
  • appropriate transparency and accountability from industry
  • more positive community engagement between residents, the government and industry
  • improvements in health care, green spaces and innovative use of land​
We address health impacts through research and oral histories for residents on the near east side of Detroit and Hamtramck:  
  • EDUCATE: With help of a CHEJ grant, we held a health fair on Sept. 11, 2021 at the Georgia Street Community Collective to meet basic health screening needs, provide dental care and to reach out to the community with information about how pollutants in the air, soil and water may be impacting their health.
  • CONDUCT RESEARCH: We hosted 4 students in 2021 the from Wayne State Masters of Public Health department to assist us in research on cumulative health impacts. We created a brochure on these health concerns.  These were made available at the Sept. 11 Health Fair and are available below.
  • ORAL HISTORIES: Our stories about pollution and our health are powerful. Learn more about how to participate or contact us.
  • ADVOCATE: Three of us filed a formal Civil Rights complaint through Great Lakes Environmental Law against the State of MI MDGLE re: their decision to allow the expansion of storage of haz waste at the US Ecology North facility. Our Complaint was based on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which states communities cannot be unduly burdened by pollution. GLEL Attorney Nick Leonard made a strong case that MDEGLE acted in a discriminatory manner by granting the expansion of US Ecology North. The complaint was resolved in 2024 with expanded translation and language outreach by MDEGLE,  funding for a cumulative health impacts study for the eastside, and consideration of cumulative health impacts in permitting decisions by MDEGLE.
WE ARE FUNDED BY KRESGE KIP _D+!
The Detroit Hamtramck Coalition for Advancing Healthy Environments was recently awarded $150,000 of grant funding through Kresge Innovative Projects: Detroit Plus (KIP:D+) to support a comprehensive cumulative impact health study plan for the 48211, 48212, and 48213 zip codes. The Detroit Hamtramck Coalition for Advancing Healthy Environments vision is healthy and clean air, land and water in Detroit and Hamtramck neighborhoods and communities. We are a resident-led Coalition hosted by the Georgia Street Community Collective on the east side of Detroit.  We are defending our neighborhoods for the advancement of a healthy environment. The KIP:D+ funding will help us create a robust community engagement process to learn how pollutants and environmental toxins are affecting public health. The study will also document the health services uniquely required by communities overburdened by pollution in the target area.   
WHO is US ECOLOGY?
*US Ecology is a hazardous waste company with facilities in 23 states. US ECOLOGY was purchased by Republic Services in 2022. US Ecology has 3 facilities in communities that are densely populated communities of color, and two of those are in Detroit. The State of MI MDEGLE continues to grant  permits to US Ecology North and South and at the same time contract with them to take care of State of MI haz waste problems like PFAS, one of the most dangerous chemicals on the planet. PFAS is collected from all over the State MI and trucked through our neighborhoods. PFAS is  stored exclusively at US Ecology North until it can be trucked out again to a landfill in Idaho.  
Our Coalition is standing up to openly racist environmental injustice through monthly member meetings, letters and interaction with MDEGLE, quarterly meetings with US Ecology North mandated by the City of Detroit, health impact research, rallies and protests, community education, health fairs and Town Hall meetings.

We are an active core group, all volunteers.
Our email list serve is over 300 people.  
We hope YOU will join us soon!

IN THE NEWS
https://www.bridgedetroit.com/us-ecology-violation-fuels-air-and-groundwater-concerns-for-neighbors/
​
https://undark.org/2022/03/10/in-a-michigan-city-environmental-justice-gets-a-critical-test/
DEMANDING PROTECTION FOR OUR HEALTH 
AIR QUALITY 
​on the EAST SIDE OF DETROIT 
WATER MATTERS 

Our Home at Georgia Street Community Collective

We're on social media!
Mailing Address
Detroit Hamtramck Coalition
c/o Georgia Street Community Collective 
8902 Vinton Street
Detroit, MI 48213
Detroit Hamtramck Coalition for Advancing Healthy Environments