Well-intentioned federal initiatives to remediate toxic waste sites and protect citizens against climate change impacts have not always managed to serve the communities that need them most. For federally funded urban greening projects to succeed, ongoing local oversight and implementation support are key.
With an award from the Bezos Earth Fund, the ReGenesis Institute will work to ensure that funding from the Biden Administration’s Justice40 initiative slated for urban greening projects will adequately meet the needs of the target cities’ most vulnerable residents.
The Institute’s founder, former South Carolina State Representative Harold Mitchell Jr., founded ReGenesis after losing his sister and father to cancer that was likely the result of toxic waste contamination from polluting sources in his home of Spartanburg, South Carolina. Mitchell hopes to ensure that all urban communities are safe places to live, including those in the Bezos Earth Fund target cities.
The ReGenesis Institute will provide technical assistance and implementation-support to all BEF partners in the areas of environmental policy, site remediation, implementation support for greening and parks, legislative analysis, strategic planning, community engagement, fundraising, and project management. The Institute will prioritize and place sustained focus on the city’s most resource-strapped communities to ensure they receive the federal support they need. The ReGenesis Institute has provided support to communities over the past 25 years in implementing the collaborative problem-solving model.