IWH Receives Grant From Partnership For Inclusive Innovation For Safe Water Together In Glynn County
STATESBORO, GA, 09/06/2023—The Institute for Water and Health, along with partners at Rebuilding Together Glynn County, the City of Brunswick, The Office of Health Equity and Community Engagement at Georgia Southern University, and the Georgia Technical Institute for People and Technology has been awarded a grant from the Partnership for Inclusive Innovation (PIN).
“This grant opportunity builds the capacity of our community and empowers
Glynn County Commissioner Allen Booker
traditionally underserved Black and Brown neighborhoods in our community so that our families
can improve their quality of life.”
The PIN grant supports Safe Water Together in Glynn County, a Community-Based Participatory Research project in the City of Brunswick, Georgia to address environmental justice issues around water quality, access to scientific information, and the communication and ownership of public health data. Funding will facilitate the creation of the Safe Water Ambassador Group (SWAG), a minority-led water quality monitoring and communication team. By using advanced water quality technology, the project targets bacterial and chemical contamination worsened by sea-level rise.
Because water quality data is collected by the community for the community, spreading the message about public health impacts and the next steps to protect residents can overcome traditional barriers to science communication. While this grant equips the SWAG team with training and advanced tools to monitor locally impaired waterways, much of the funding goes directly to community members and schools to integrate environmental data into public health behavior change. The main goals of this program are to empower residents with the information needed to influence policy decisions and improve public health outcomes for at-risk populations in Brunswick and Glynn County.
Posted in General Announcements