Launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, C3 is a diverse, community-based network of paid ambassadors coordinated by the Cambridge Public Health Department to foster resilience and promote public health and wellness across the Cambridge community.  

Members of C3 lead outreach, advocacy, and community engagement initiatives as it relates to public health issues. To date, this has been done at parks around the city, through door-to-door outreach, by tabling at community events, by supporting vaccine and testing clinics, and by supporting and partnering with city programs and initiatives like Participatory Budgeting and the Port Infrastructure Project.  

C3 provides members with opportunities to advance their public health interest and knowledge, creating a potential pathway into careers in public health. C3 members develop skills in core public health competencies, including outreach, assessment, data-driven decision-making, health education and communications, advocacy, community capacity building, and system navigation – skills that can be applied to the advancement of equitable climate and health outcomes. 

Residents of communities predominantly home to Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and low-income individuals disproportionally experience the worst effects of climate change, including poor air and water quality, extreme weather, and the rising cost of essential resources. Their experience and the strategies that they have developed to cope with these impacts can lead to more effective long-term solutions.   

The fact that Environmental Justice (EJ) communities face higher exposure to the harms of pollution and climate change is not by accident.  

Decisions made by government entities and other institutions have exacerbated the threat of the safety and well-being of the most vulnerable communities. For example: 

• Forcing Indigenous communities to leave their homes, 
• Providing weak workplace protections for jobs held mostly by BIPOC and immigrants, and 
• Inducing residential discrimination, and having low-income housing near toxic facilities, highways, and within wetlands 

Prioritizing climate action in EJ communities and the solutions identified by those most impacted is critical to achieving a future where all people are protected from environmental harm and benefit from the transition to a greener future.