The Community Engagement Core
The Community Engagement Core (CEC) aims to enhance and expand existing relationships between HERCULES and community partners to resolve environmental health issues in the community using exposome principles. We do this by:
Creating conversations between the Atlanta community and HERCULES
Increasing the capacity of local communities to address their environmental health concerns
Guiding and supporting HERCULES scientists in community engagement
Our Approach
By developing partnerships and building capacity among community members and scientists, the CEC aims to incorporate community concerns into the long-term research efforts of HERCULES investigators.
To achieve these aims, we use the following approaches:
Partnerships
Our work relies on strong partnerships, especially with our Stakeholder Advisory Board. Our Board, which includes local residents, non-profits, and government agencies, guides CEC activities and ensures community concerns about environmental health issues are incorporated into HERCULES. We also support community-engaged research partnerships through the HERUCLES Pilot Program and by recognizing partners for their community engaged work.
Learn about our SAB and partnership work
Community Resources
We create and provide environmental health resources relevant to the local community, including summaries of environmental health research
Roadshow and Grant Program
We conduct workshops with local communities to share the exposome concept, identify communities’ exposome-related perspectives and concerns and include those perspectives in future exposome science. We then provide grants for communities to address those concerns.
Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR)
We support HERUCLES scientists who are interested in integrating community-engaged approaches into their research, facilitate community-scientist partnerships when appropriate, and prepare future scientists for community-engaged research.
Community Engagement Highlights
- Clarence “Shaheed” Dubois Community Grant Program highlighted in Emory’s Public Health Magazine
- Results of 2013/2014 Mini-Grant “Proctor Creek Watershed Watch: A Photovoice Project” presented at 2015 U.S. EPA Community Involvement Training Conference
- Proctor Creek Coalition January 2015 Meeting Updates
- Clarence “Shaheed” Dubois Community Grant Program
- CEC activities in the news!
- Atlanta Community Forum: Environment, Health and Action
Community Engagement Activities
HERCULES funds Proctor Creek Collaborative Health Survey
The Proctor Creek Community Collaborative Health Survey was funded by the HERCULES Center in the spring of 2014. This pilot project is a strong example of academic and community collaboration. The...
EPA awards over $179,000 to promote Proctor Creek Restoration
As part of the EPA’s Urban Waters program, three Atlanta organizations received funding to promote the restoration of the Proctor Creek Watershed and support community improvements in the...
