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Climate change has a disproportionate impact on low income communities. This Earth Day, OCS is highlighting how our anti-poverty programs also work to mitigate the effects of climate change and promote environmental justice. Check out this landing page to learn more and follow us on Twitter @OCS_ACFgov !
The Justice40 Initiative , part of President Biden’s Executive Order 14008 on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, directs that 40% of the benefits of covered federal programs go to disadvantaged communities. Hundreds of Justice40 covered programs across federal agencies are working to address climate change, clean energy and energy efficiency, clean transit, affordable and sustainable housing, training and workforce development, remediation and reduction of legacy pollution, and the development of critical clean water and wastewater infrastructure.
OCS administers five Justice40 covered programs, including the Community Economic Development (CED) program, the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP), and the Rural Community Development (RCD) program. Read on to find out how these programs are working to promote environmental justice.
OCS and Justice40
Community Economic Development (CED)
The CED program assists energy communities - communities that have experienced employment loss due to declines in the coal and fossil fuel industries — by starting and growing businesses and creating new jobs for people with low incomes. More information can be found on the CED homepage.
CED in Action
Supporting New Job Creation in Energy Communities
Community Services Block Grant (CSBG)
CSBG supports low-income households with a range of environmental justice services, including disaster and emergency response, nutrition programs, and transportation assistance. More information can be found on the CSBG homepage.
CSBG in Action
Creating Affordable Housing through Clean Energy Sources
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
As climate changes and temperatures become more extreme, LIHEAP assists low-income households with home energy bills to keep them safe in their homes, staying cool in the summer and warm in the winter. More information can be found on the LIHEAP homepage.
LIHEAP in Action
Keeping Families Safe & Warm in their Homes
Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP)
LIHWAP helps the lowest-income households gain access to affordable and clean drinking water, and increases opportunity and economic safety. More information can be found on the LIHWAP homepage.
LIHWAP in Action
Preventing Disconnections to Keep the Water Flowing
Rural Community Development Program (RCD)
RCD funding supports the development of critical clean water infrastructure and community capacity building in unincorporated areas and low-income rural communities. More information can be found on the RCD homepage.
RCD in Action
Making Critical Infrastructure Improvements in Rural Areas
OCS’ Environmental Justice Resources
OCS is using GIS (geographic information systems) to develop tools that support our grant recipients and strengthen our environmental justice work. This Earth Day, we are releasing updates to the Heat Stress Dashboard to include resources on urban heat islands and to the Disaster Flexibilities Hub to include resources for dealing with smoke.
LIHEAP and Extreme Heat Dashboard
OCS Disaster Flexibilities Hub Dashboard
Blog Posts from the ACF Family Room Blog
- Maximizing the Reach of LIHEAP This Winter | The Administration for Children and Families (hhs.gov)
- Addressing Water and Wastewater Challenges in Tribal Nations | The Administration for Children and Families (hhs.gov)
- Five Things You Probably Didn’t Realize About Water and its Impact on Families and Communities in America | The Administration for Children and Families (hhs.gov)
Social Media Toolkit
Celebrate #EarthDay2023: Download any of the following images to share across your own accounts and be sure to follow us on Twitter @OCS_ACFgov .
Alternative Explanation
Alternative explanation of animated infographics
Figure 1: In 2021 and 2022, RCD helped over 14,000 residents in rural, low-income communities gain access to safe drinking water. Current CED projects are creating 559 new jobs in energy communities.
Figure 2: In 2022, LIHWAP helped 428,950 households keep their water on. In 2021, LIHEAP provided cooling and summer crisis assistance to over 939,000 households.
Figure 3: CSBG serves over 9 million people every year on average.