The NIEHS sponsors Town Meetings in cities throughout the United States on the general theme of environmental impacts on human health. The purpose of the town meetings is to bring together members of the public who are interested in public health and the environment with NIEHS and other federal, state, and local government health officials; environmental health professionals; and disease and environmental advocacy groups. The meetings provide a platform for an open dialogue to establish better coordination among the public and health professionals working on community exposures, industrial exposures, and other environmental issues. These meetings also provide an opportunity to promote local and state media coverage of environmental health issues to broaden public understanding. Many of these town meetings are organized in collaboration with NIEHS Environmental Health Sciences Centers and Superfund Centers at universities around the country who carry out cutting edge research to better understand the most pressing and key environmental problems of the nation, and how best to solve them.
Upcoming Town Meetings are in New Brunswick, NJ (Rutgers), Milwaukee, WI (Univ of Wisconsin), and West Harlem, NY (Columbia)
Wilson underscored the NIEHS commitment to producing the solid science to underpin good policy and regulatory efforts to impact environmental public health. He spoke against the backdrop of a wall of quilts celebrating the struggles of slaves seeking freedom through the Underground Railroad. (Photo courtesy of the University of Cincinnati)
Martin, right foreground, and Schelp, on her left in dark jacket, joined participants as they listened to the keynote speakers. (Photo courtesy of the University of Cincinnati)
Following their introductory remarks, from left to right, Driehaus, Ho and Wilson pose in front of a mural featuring scenes from the Underground Railroad. (Photo courtesy of the University of Cincinnati)
Last Town Meeting
Cincinnati Town Meeting Your Home, Your Health
September 15, 2008
Freedom Center, Cincinnati, OH
Hosted by the University of Cincinnati
The September 15 town hall meeting, "Your Home, Your Health, Your Voice," was about empowerment for individuals dealing with environmental exposures, and it was held appropriately in a monument to empowerment during extreme adversity, the Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. The meeting was jointly sponsored by NIEHS and the University of Cincinnati (UC) Center for Environmental Genetics (CEG). The event featured talks by experts at UC to help residents understand better the exposures they face each day and to offer practical ideas about how individuals can improve aspects of their health related to those exposures.
Welcoming attendees to the day-long event were CEG Director Shuk-mei Ho, Ph.D., NIEHS Acting Director Sam Wilson, M.D., and Ohio State Rep. Steven Driehaus. In his comments, Wilson talked about the value of community engagement by scientists.
"Town hall meetings are important to share views and understand where real needs are on the academic side and from community groups," Wilson said. "The potential benefit is enormous."
The speakers from CEG, who are some of the leading researchers in the environmental health sciences, focused on hazards in the home, including exposures to lead, plastics, second-hand smoke, mold and traffic exhaust. Attendees learned how to recognize potentially harmful exposures, prevent them when possible and find help to correct them if necessary.
"This was a unique opportunity for the Greater Cincinnati community and others throughout the region because this will be the only NIEHS town hall meeting of this kind in 2008," said Elizabeth Kopras, CEG junior research associate and meeting coordinator. "Attendees had the opportunity to have direct input on the decision-making process for how NIEHS allocates its funding opportunities for the upcoming fiscal year — as well leave the meeting better equipped to protect their health and the health of their loved ones."
Accompanying Wilson to the meeting were NIEHS Director of Science Policy and Planning Joyce Martin, J.D., and John Schelp, special assistant to the director. Schelp also helps coordinate the NIEHS Public Interest Partners group, a national forum for community advocacy.
Previous Town Meetings
Asthma and the Air We Breath
13 July 2007
Charlotte, North Carolina
Friendship Missionary Baptist Church
Charlotte Town Meeting on Air Quality & Health Disparities: Public Invited to Help Set Research Agenda
Friendship Missionary Baptist Church joined with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and American Health Strategies in holding a town meeting in Charlotte to discuss ongoing and new ways to improve air quality among minority populations.
Research has consistently shown that African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans are more likely to develop chronic respiratory illnesses, including asthma when compared to white Americans. In addition, minorities are more likely to have poor outcomes associated with chronic respiratory illnesses. Differences in exposure to ozone and other pollutants may contribute to the disparities observed in disease prevalence and severity. It is time to clear the air. The Charlotte Town Meeting on Air Quality and Health Disparities was open to the public.
NIEHS director, Dr. David Schwartz, was the keynote speaker for the meeting. The NIEHS has a noted tradition of supporting research relevant to understanding health disparities and concerns of disadvantaged communities. Congressional staff, state and local representatives, researchers and leaders in the medical and public health community participated in the community forum.
Environmental & Neurodevelopmental Disorders over the Lifespan
11 September 2005
Durham, North Carolina
International Neurotoxicolgy Conference
Town Meeting Agenda (http://www.niehs.nih.gov//about/community/docs/nctownmtg0905.pdf) (176 KB)
Growing Pains: Health & Community Impacts of Goods Movements and the Ports
25-26 February 2005
Long Beach, California
Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center (USC & UCLA)
Children's Memorial Institute for Education & Research, Chicago
American Lung Association of Chicago
Airborne Threats to Human Health: The latest Findings on Fine Particle Pollution - What you and Your Family Need to Know About Air Pollution and How It Affects Your Health
21 April 2003
Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York
American Lung Association of New York State and State University of NY-Upstate Medical
Oceans and Human Health
27-28 February 2003
Maritime and Science Technology High School, Miami
University of Miami's Marine and Freshwater Biomedical Sciences Center Florida International University and the University of Miami
Voices of Diversity in the Environment and Health
7-8 January 2003
San Antonio Town Meeting
Air Force Institute for Environment, Safety and Occupational Health Risk Analysis, San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, University of Texas Health Science Center, Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation
Voices for a Healthy Community - Breast Cancer and the Environment
7-8 October 2002
Marin County and San Rafael, California
Marin Cancer Watch Organization, NIEHS Berkeley Center, Community Outreach and Education Program and University of California, Berkeley
Children's Environmental Health Public Forum, Paso Del Norte Heavy Metal Exposure
1-2 February 2002
Tomas Rivera Conference Center
University of Texas at El Paso
Voices for Healthy Environments, Healthy Communities, Healthy Jobs
7-8 December 2001
First Church of God, Los Angeles
Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center (USC/UCLA)
Public Meeting on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations: Airing on the Environmental Health Issues
16 November 2001
University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
University of Iowa College of Public Health
Neighborhood Environmental Health
19-20 October 2001
Houston, Texas
Baylor College of Medicine
Public Meeting on Chromium VI
14 January 2001
Glendale City Hall, Glendale, California
City of Glendale
Voices for Healthy Environments, Healthy Communities
29-30 September 2000
Mt Zion Baptist Church, Seattle, WA
University of Washington
Health Disparities
9 July 1999
Chicago, Illinois
University of Illinois at Chicago
Health Disparities
26 May 1999
Baltimore, Maryland
Johns Hopkins University
Children's Environmental Health
19 February 1999
Berkeley, California
University of California at Berkeley
Environmental Health in Our Neighborhoods: Speaking Out About Pollution and Health
19-20 January 1999
Cincinnati, Ohio
University of Cincinnati
Air, Soil, and Water Pollution: Environmental Health Implications
17-18 November 1998
Nashville, Tennessee
Vanderbilt University
Urban Environmental Health
17-18 September 1998
Piscataway, NJ
UMDNJ and Rutgers
More on NIEHS Town Meetings (EHP article (http://www.ehponline.org/members/2003/6267/6267.html))
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