Houston, Texas – The City of Houston’s Council Member, Leticia Plummer, hosted the Fifth Ward Cancer Cluster Collaborative Summit from April 24th through the 27th. The summit included a community sites tour, press conference, townhall, a proclamation in honor of IMPACT Greater Fifth Ward and advocate Sandra Small, and community breakout sessions with environmental and community leaders.
IMPACT Greater Fifth Ward has been a driving force in transforming how we approach pollution and environmental hazards in Houston, TX. The organization has amplified the voices of current and former residents of historic neighborhoods near the Liberty Road rail yard, who have long been urging Union Pacific Railroad to take responsibility for the cancer-causing pollution coming from their former creosoting operation. Their tireless efforts have helped shed light on environmental racism, bringing national attention to the need for stronger protections to safeguard our health and well-being at the state, city, and county levels.
Over the past five years, Lone Star Legal Aid has represented IMPACT Greater Fifth Ward in submitting public comments on Union Pacific’s proposed permit to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), our state environmental protection agency. These comments have been instrumental in prompting several studies by both regulators and public health researchers to investigate the environmental and health impacts in the Greater Fifth Ward area. The findings of these studies have been concerning, as they have revealed that the Greater Fifth Ward area has at least six cancer clusters. Our communal efforts have played a pivotal role in bringing attention to this critical issue and spurring action to address it.
IMPACT could not have acted so successfully without the vision and integrity of one of their founders, Ms. Sandra Small. When she learned that Union Pacific had left pollution in the ground where she raised her children, she set out to make things right for future generations.
Although Ms. Small passed in 2021, IMPACT continues to fight for a healthy neighborhood free of creosote and other contaminants, and for justice for those who are sick and those whose loved ones died of cancer. “IMPACT’s and Small’s advocacy has been instrumental in bringing national awareness to the legacy creosote contamination and resulting negative health impacts to the Fifth Ward / Kashmere Gardens communities,” commented Litigation Director Amy Dinn.
At the Fifth Ward Cancer Cluster Collaborative Summit, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner officially declared April 25th Sandra Small Day, in honor of the community leader’s unwavering commitment to social justice and environmental activism. This recognition is a testament to Small’s outstanding leadership and serves as an inspiration for others to follow in her footsteps and continue the fight for a healthier, more equitable future for all.
Also at the summit, Texas State Representative Sheila Jackson Lee presented Lone Star Legal Aid and other advocacy organizations, including IMPACT, with a Certificate of Congressional Recognition. Lone Star Legal Aid was recognized for our representation of IMPACT, commitment to the City of Houston, and addressing environmental injustices.
Visit IMPACT to learn more about our work with the community group for Greater Fifth Ward.
Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm focused on advocacy for low-income and underserved populations by providing free legal education, advice, and representation. LSLA serves millions of people at 125% of federal poverty guidelines, who live in 72 counties in the eastern and Gulf Coast regions of Texas, and 4 counties in Southwest Arkansas. LSLA focuses its resources on maintaining, enhancing, and protecting income and economic stability; preserving housing; improving outcomes for children; establishing and sustaining family safety, stability, health, and wellbeing; and assisting populations with special vulnerabilities, like those with disabilities, the aging, survivors of crime and disasters, the unemployed and underemployed, the unhoused, those with limited English language skills, and the LGBTQIA+ community. To learn more about Lone Star Legal Aid, visit our website at www.LoneStarLegal.org.
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