This agreement provides funding under the inflation reduction act (IRA) to john snow institute (JSI) research and training institute, INC

To enhance community input into local environmental and climate policy decision-making in boston's environmental justice (EJ) neighborhoods by improving access to information, creating a community advisory council (CAC), and launching an EJ ambassador program for peer outreach and engagement in east boston, massachusetts. JSI INC. Along with their statutory partner, gastoacute; n institute will provide outreach, training, and technical support to increase public engagement and involvement in local initiatives and decision-making, which will build safe and healthy communities and improve environment and public health conditions including the ability to address and respond to extreme weather and other climate impacts. Outcomes include increased community engagement in local government processes and decision-making, establishing new communication pathways, community-led recommendations, and additional community leadership opportunities through training programs. Activities:the activities to be performed include creating a community advisory council (CAC), building connections with local government and launching an EJ ambassador program for peer outreach in east boston, massachusetts. The project will connect residents, local organizations and workers including those with limited english proficiency to build partnership and collaboration. JSI will focus on partnerships with community organizations including neighbors united for a better east boston (nube), an east boston resident-led organization dedicated to organizing disenfranchised neighbors for civic participation; maverick landing community services (mlcs), a nonprofit focused on building an equitable community in east boston; and greenroots, an environmental justice organization in boston and chelsea which focuses on public engagement, collective action, education, and youth leadership. The project will organize a series of community events and trainings to listen to community concerns and increase residents under standing of local government programs and involvement in municipal decision-making. This project will establish a CAC with at least 20 representatives from underserved communities. The project will enhance communication and feedback mechanisms by establishing BI-directional communication pathways between community members and local municipal government. This includes in-person meetings, online communication platforms, social media, and virtual meetings. The training program will also reach teachers of adult basic education/english for speakers of other languages, academic teachers, and local community-based organization leaders through a train-the trainer program on environmental and climate justice topics that directly informs, engages and addresses needs of east boston residents. Subrecipient:this grant will include four subawards: gastoacute; n institute (statutory partner), maverick landing community services (mlcs), neighbors united for a better east boston (nube), and greenroots. The gastoacute; n institute is based at the university of massachusetts, boston and collaborates widely to evaluate how policies impact education, health, and community outcomes. The gastoacute; n institute will lead community engagement tasks including coordinating convenings and will assist in evaluation and community assessment for the project. Mlcs, a nonprofit focused on building an equitable community in east boston, will recruit community advisory council (CAC) members from local public housing residents, host education and training events, and offer participant support such as childcare and translation to ensure broad resident engagement and participation. Nube, an east boston resident-led organization dedicated to organizing disenfranchised neighbors for civic participation, will recruit CAC members and help organiz