Puget Sound Sage and the South Park Information and Resource Center teamed to produce an excellent StoryCorps interview with Paulina Lopez, a volunteer with the resource center.
In the interview Paulina describes Seattle’s South Park community, which is bordered by the heavily polluted Duwamish River and is plagued by severe air pollution from train, truck, and air traffic, resulting in health problems, including high asthma rates among children.
She talks about how she and others formed the resource center to get more involvement by the Latino community in neighborhood and city decision making, and how the organization has become an important hub for all members of the community
Paulina eloquently paints a picture of how she and her organization have worked with different immigrant groups in the neighborhood, the importance of children’s health in their work, and their success in building a strong community of advocates.
Her description of how her group and the Asthma Coalition have partnered to train people to make their own air filters, and the positive impact they have had on childrens’ respiratory problems is very informative and interesting.
To listen to the interview, please click the link below.
Paulina talks about how she became inspired to be a changemaker, and how environmental pollution impacts her community.
VERY IMPORTANT – please sign our petition to clean up the air in port and rail yard communities throughout the USA. Just click below
#ZeroEmissionsNow