People for Community Recovery

People for Community Recovery (PCR) was founded in June 1979 by its founder and executive director, Hazel Johnson. Her work began after observing the high rates of cancer among her friends and family in the relatively small community of the Altgeld Gardens Houses. She began calling oncology centers around the country, and later connected with Chicago and greater Illinois health departments to investigate reports industrial pollution and its subsequent affects on public health. Ms. Johnson dedicated her career to learning about urban environmental issues and and consequently disseminating this knowledge into her community. PCR learned that there are over 50 documented landfills and over 382 polluting facilities in the region surrounding Altgeld Gardens. Due to this heavy concentration of industry, low income residential communities on the Southeast side of Chicago were being exposed to substantial amounts of toxic chemicals that could be responsible for negative health impacts. With these facts in mind, for the past two decades PCR has been applying pressure on "corporate polluters" and government officials to make them aware of their negligence. It is PCR's goal to make both corporations and the government accountable to the communities in which they operate. Through extensive research and partnerships, PCR has found a significant correlation among various industrial processes-- the byproducts of which pollute the air, land and water--and the health status of urban minority communities. With perseverance, tenacity and dedication, PCR continues to be a positive force not only within the Altgeld Gardens community, but within the Environmental Justice movement at large.