History of Multnomah County PACE-EH

In September 2001, leaders in Multnomah County’s Environmental Health Division went to a workshop in Atlanta to discover how to better integrate community involvement into the work that they do. They learned about a nationwide protocol called PACE-EH (Protocol for Assessing Community Excellence in Environmental Health). PACE-EH is a guide that takes local health departments and communities through a process of examining environmental health issues in local communities, and creating environmental health agendas based on both empirical evidence and community values.

The foundation of PACE-EH is a partnership with the community, and in February 2002, key partners held the first PACE-EH Community Meeting at the North Portland Health Center. Community members shared their concerns about environmental health and justice in Multnomah County, and identified their capacities to contribute to a PACE-EH process. More than 30 organizations and individuals signed pledge forms and agreed to participate in PACE-EH activities.

In July 2002 two Community Connectors were hired to do outreach and community organizing in order to broaden the number and diversity of PACE-EH participants. After a summer orientation, these community organizers began meeting with organizations and individuals throughout the County to spread the word about PACE-EH and encourage people to get involved.

The PACE-EH Coalition held its second community meeting in September 2002 at OAME. The Community Connectors and staff of the Health Department shared the PACE-EH vision with meeting participants, and reported on PACE-EH activities to date. People were encouraged to become more involved in PACE-EH by helping to recruit new members and develop plans for a formal assessment.

In November 2002 we held our third PACE-EH Coalition meeting at the SE Multicultural Senior Center. Participants discussed our shared vision of environmental health and environmental justice, and brainstormed on how the PACE-EH Coalition could help us realize that vision.

Through the fall and winter of 2002, key partners and health department staff met twice a month to develop a formal structure and decision-making processes for the coalition. At the fourth PACE-EH Coalition meeting in January 2003 at Kaiser’s Town Hall, members formally adopted a PACE-EH Coalition structure, as well as roles and responsibilities for four committees: Steering, Membership, Assessment, and Support. For more information on the committees, click here.

In March and April of 2003, the Assessment Team established criteria for the selection of a narrowed geographic focus for preliminary PACE-EH activities. These criteria are:
• Environmental Justice area—Large percent of people of color, low-income, disproportionately affected by environmental and health threats, people with less political and decision-making power
• Exposure to multiple environmental problems
• PACE-EH support is welcomed by the community
• Availability of existing data on that area
Based largely on a review of GIS maps indicating exposure levels to environmental hazards and environmental justice characteristics, five geographical areas were identified as potential areas for assessment: St. Johns, Inner North, Northeast, Cully, and Gresham/Rockwood. Click here to see the maps.

In April 2003, we held the fifth PACE-EH Community Coalition meeting at Kaiser’s Town Hall. The Assessment Team presented the GIS maps to members and facilitated a discussion about how each of these geographical areas met the selection criteria. Coalition members used the information gathered from this group discussion and the maps to narrow the geographic focus of PACE-EH with Multnomah County. Inner North and Northeast Portland were selected as focus areas for the assessment, with specific boundaries to be defined with input from area residents.
Health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) came to Portland for a PACE-EH site visit in April 2003. Brian Hubbard and Jonathan Drewry attended the PACE-EH Community Coalition meeting, went on a tour of North/Northeast Portland, and met with Health Department officials and PACE-EH committee members. Click here to see the CDC’s report of the Portland PACE-EH site visit.

In June 2003, health department employees Latricia Tillman and Tom Waltz published an article describing the vision and first-year activities of Portland PACE-EH. Click here to read, “Pursuing Environmental Health Through Community Assessment,” Northwest Public Health, Spring/Summer 2003.

In July 2003 PACE-EH hired another Community Connector to increase outreach activities in Inner North and Northeast Portland. The first issue of our newsletter, The Community PACE-EH Setter, was also published in July 2003. Click here to read our newsletter!

In July 2003 we held our sixth PACE-EH Community Coalition meeting at North Portland’s Liberty Hall. Participants received an update on PACE-EH activities, and were encouraged to share their inspirational stories of successful grassroots efforts to improve the health of communities all over the world. Participants also shared personal experiences with environmental injustices and successful environmental health activism.

Stay tuned as PACE-EH continues to create our own story of success...