Title: Love Canal - Center for Health, Environment & Justice
Headings: Love Canal
Love Canal
Love Canal: The Start of a Movement
The Love Canal Homeowners Association
The Remaining Community
The Next Chapter

Content: A few days later, the state agreed to purchase all 239 homes in the first two rings of homes closest to the canal. That month, the Love Canal Homeowners Association (LCHA) was established to give the community a voice in the decisions made during the Love Canal environmental crisis. LCHA membership consisted of approximately 500 families living within a 10-block area surrounding the Love Canal landfill. Within a week of the health order, the residents held a public meeting, elected officers and set goals for the newly formed organization. The Remaining Community
Once the state had evacuated 239 families and began the cleanup, they erected a 10-foot fence around the evacuated area, even though nobody knew how far the chemicals had gone. The remaining community quickly began to express their anger and concerns. Their children were sick, their homes were worthless and they were innocent victims. They marched into the streets on Mother’s Day, carried symbolic coffins to the state capitol, held prayer vigils and picketed at the canal every day for weeks in the dead of winter. Because of the pressure and persistence of the protests, the state gave what they called concessions, such as a safety plan and a $200,000 Human Services Fund to pay some of the residents’ medical expenses. But residents did not want concessions.