East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice emerges from years of the unheard community voices that have silently suffered the effects of pollution in their neighborhoods. Through grass-roots organizing and leadership building skills, EYCEJ works to enable under-represented communities to be heard, which in turn influences policy change, policy makers and agencies that can institute health protective environmental justice policies that are in the best interest of local, regional, and statewide residents.
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice is committed to making real change happen in our communities. As a cohesive unit, the organization has developed a plan of action that utilizes research-based information, workshops and trainings to empower our communities.
The method works because it affects not only public opinion, but policy makers, stakeholders and regulators, who feel strong pressure to respond to well-crafted solutions-oriented community demands. It encourages good corporate citizenship on the part of companies, and most of all, it affects the community members, who learn the skills of self-determination and are forever able to exercise their power in a democratic system.