Press release:
Tonight, Thursday November 10, leading health journalists and professionals will speak at the public kick off of the Duwamish Valley Healthy Communities Project. The event will start at 6:00 p.m. at the South Seattle Community College–Georgetown Campus at 6737 Corson Avenue South.

Following a community Open House, Health and Social Justice reporter Carol Smith of Seattle-based InvestigateWest, and King County's Richard Gelb will give an overview of recent research on health disparities –inequalities that harm one community more than another – in South Seattle's Duwamish Valley. The disparities, which include the highest asthma hospitalization rates in the county, spurred the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/Technical Advisory Group (DRCC/TAG), which has been working for a clean and healthy Duwamish River since 2001, to launch the Duwamish Valley Healthy Communities Project.

"The Duwamish is one of the most polluted rivers in the country," says Project Manager BJ Cummings. "Its important to clean it up to protect the environment and public health, but its also clear that there are many other reasons that local residents' health is suffering. This project will identify those causes and take action to improve the health of all of our families."

The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Environmental Justice Program Manager Wenona Wilson will open the event. EPA is funding the Healthy Communities Project with a recently-announced $100,000 CARE (Community Action for a Renewed Environment) Grant. DRCC/TAG and its Project Partners, including local agencies, businesses and non-profit organizations, will be on hand to provide information on local health initiatives and answer questions about the project.