The Climate and Health Adaptation Initiative (CHAI) is a partnership among state, federal, and academic partners to address community-identified needs to support community health in a changing climate. CHAI supports communities across Washington state who have climate change-related action plans but may need additional resources or capacity to implement those plans.
Advancing climate justice is CHAI’s goal. The initiative is intentionally designed to have a grassroots approach: community and regional partners share their climate and health priorities, and the CHAI planning team works with communities to find resources, funding, staffing capacity, and tangible environmental and community benefits to achieve those priorities. CHAI is specifically focused on protecting and promoting the health of communities who are experiencing the harmful consequences of climate change first and worst.
Community Capacity Building Grantees Announced
Inaugural recipients of the new Climate and Health Adaptation Initiative (CHAI) Community Capacity Building Grant Program have been announced by the Washington State Department of Health for 2024 - 2025. Funding of $750,000 is supporting eight organizations with a commitment to climate justice and community wellbeing. The awardees are focusing on communities in regions facing the immediate impacts of climate change by creating resilience hubs, forming youth climate adaptation taskforces, and engaging on issues related to air quality, extreme heat, pollution, flood resiliency, emergency preparedness, and health-related social needs at the local level. Learn more about the CHAI awardees.
Partners
Partners who have worked with or supported CHAI include:
- Washington State Department of Health
- Washington State Department of Ecology
- University of Washington’s Center for Health and the Global Environment
- Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10
- Health & Human Services, Region 10
- Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region 10
- Gonzaga Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment
What the CHAI Planning Team Offers
- Public health and climate expertise.
- Technical assistance with funding opportunities, data needs, and other climate and health priorities.
- Identify resource providers to fund implementation of climate action plans.
- Connect people and partners who are addressing health needs in a changing climate.
- Other needs identified by community and regional partners.