The Mon River Fleet - Providing Health Education Since 2004

The Clairton Community PartnerSHIP was developed in 2003 to provide a mechanism by which community agencies can provide regular and systematic feedback to the school district for the purpose of program enhancement and improvement. It has since evolved to planning and implementation of health promotion projects and events both within the school and throughout the community.

Clairton is a city that sits along the West Bank of the Monogahela River in what is know as the Mon-Valley. The population was 8,491 at the 2000 census and the city was the setting for the 1978 movie The Deer Hunter. It is also home to Clairton Works, the largest coke manufacturing facility in the United States. Clairton’s existence began when the United States Steel Company acquired the town’s site as a location for an integrated steel mill. During the next several decades, growth and advancement indicated a thriving city. As the steel mill expanded, the population of Clairton grew. Clairton took on a life of its own, including a business district and educational, religious, and cultural facilities.

However, with the decline of the steel industry in the early 1980’s, Clairton began to experience severe problems in its employment and tax base, which caused a major economic decline to the community. As a result of this catastrophic drop in economic activity, Clairton in 1988 was designated a distressed municipality. Yet, for all this, people still see Clairton as a place of possibility, hope, and revitalization.

It is the Clairton Community PartnerSHIP’s belief that a healthy community is achieved when the opportunity exists for the highest quality of life to be experienced by every resident. Therefore, it must be the responsibility of the entire community beginning with each individual and family and include: local government, social service agencies, religious communities, health care providers, the business community, the local school districts, the criminal justice system, and the media.