by Children’s Health Defense EMR & Wireless Team
Children’s Health Defense (CHD) has launched the Stop 5G: Empowering Citizens to Protect their Community Initiative, a step-by-step guide communities can follow to mount an effective defense against proposed and existing cell towers in their neighborhoods.
The initiative is designed to help people take action on their own or with the support of CHD’s Stop5G Community Empowerment Consulting service, which offers legal representation, expert consultation and advocacy services through our partnership with attorney W. Scott McCollough, lead counsel for CHD’s EMR & Wireless program.
The consultancy is best suited for communities that need professional legal representation and expert opinions, and want the benefit of tailored advocacy and organizing support, and campaign management to bolster their defense.
Community Empowerment Consulting offers tiered service packages to fit the needs and budgets of each community.
Empowerment through accessible resources
For communities that don’t require legal representation but still want to take action, the stop5G.org website is a ready-to-use, self-guided resource. It provides easy-to-follow instructions that allow communities to organize an effective opposition, educate local officials, and slow down or stop cell tower installations.
The initiative strives to empower communities to fight the rapid and uncontrolled rollout of wireless — particularly 5G — infrastructure close to homes, schools and fragile natural environments.
CHD’s decision to create Stop 5G came in response to the overwhelming demand for help from communities facing the 5G infrastructure rollout, with many cell towers being proposed near homes, on the roofs of schools and churches, and in the middle of recreational areas.
We received countless requests for representation, advocacy support and guidance, far exceeding our capacity to assist through donor-supported resources alone.
Early community mobilization and opposition critical
The recent legal loss in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where local health authorities tried and failed to remove or relocate a cell tower that made nearby residents severely ill highlights the importance of communities taking action in the permitting process — before a tower is installed.
Once a tower is approved and built, there are few avenues to challenge the installation. Early community mobilization and opposition are critical to protecting residents’ health, property values and the local environment.
By providing this resource, CHD hopes to bridge the gap for communities that can’t afford costly legal battles to challenge existing towers but still need a way to defend their neighborhoods from wireless infrastructure.
CHD encourages chapters and supporters to promote Stop 5G as a valuable resource for anyone concerned about 5G, especially for communities where cell towers are proposed.
To find out if cell towers are being proposed in your community, you can reach out to your city or county’s building or planning department and be on the lookout for notices in the mail, local newspaper or bulletin boards.
It’s important to attend planning board or city council meetings, where they usually discuss proposed cell towers. We also recommend you connect with neighborhood associations and use local social media groups or apps like NextDoor to stay in tune with what happens in your community.
We hope the Stop 5G initiative will help people understand the risks of 5G, and help them mobilize local opposition and defend people’s right to a safer environment. Whether or not communities engage the consultancy services, the Stop 5G website is a powerful tool for local action.
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/community/chd-stop-5g-initiative-cell-towers/
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