Erin Brockovich urges 'sticktoitiveness' to fix Spokane problems in Women Helping Women gala speech

May 19-Erin Brockovich hopes Spokane protects its water.

"Together we love our health. We love our family. We love our water," the famed environmentalist told several hundred donors at the annual Give Like A Woman gala Tuesday night. "That's what I learned being here with all of you today."

The event raised at least $150,000 for Spokane nonprofits who help women and families, said Women Helping Women Fund organizers at the close of Brockovich's keynote speech.

Much like her portrayal in the movie bearing her name, Brockovich's Spokane speech was profanity laden. But behind each expletive was a story of how the "sticktoitiveness" of women could change communities.

"In my 30 years in community activism it always begins with one pissed -off mom every time. She finds another pissed -off mom and the next thing you know, they've got momentum in their own backyard," she said.

Working as a paralegal in the 1990s, Brockovich sussed out something was wrong with the town of Hinkley. She had no legal or medical background, but Brockovich could "just feel something was wrong." She likened the sense to knowing a tornado was headed her way when growing up in Oklahoma.

"If you're present, you can notice a flow or a direction or a change in the wind. When I went to Hinkley that was screaming at me," she said.

When working on the ground for change, activists should pause and really listen to what is going on around them, she said.

"Common sense told me the trees dying was weird. Common sense told me how the cows with tumors are weird. Two-headed frogs are weird," Brockovich said. "We're oftentimes told to move away from what your intuition is telling you. You can't do that when you know something is wrong."

The lawsuit that arose from that intuition led to the discovery Pacific Gas and Electric Company had dumped millions of gallons of chromium-tainted wastewater in that small California town. The lawsuit that followed resulted in a settlement of $333 million, which was one of the largest settlements ever at that time.

The movie bearing her name was released in 2000 and detailed the twists and turns of the Hinkley case. Brockovich was played by Julia Roberts in the film, who went on to win Best Actress at the Academy Awards for her portrayal. The movie was "every bit true" Brockovich said Tuesday, but the years after she rose to fame were some of the hardest in her life.

"I felt like I lost some of my identity," she said. "After the movie I felt a little like Dorothy plucked out of Oz."

In the years since Brockovich has been involved in other environmental causes, including PFAS contamination. Earlier this year she toured north Georgia towns impacted by the so-called forever chemicals, which are a set of man-made chemicals used in thousands of products linked to cancer and other diseases. Near Spokane the chemicals have contaminated groundwater on the West Plains.

West Plains Water Coalition President John Hancock said residents affected by the chemicals should follow Brockovich's advice to not back down when those in power want to slow down solutions.

"I was inspired by the movie, and now I've been inspired by the real person," Hancock said after Brockovich's speech. "Her story can be a model for all of us as we're fighting."

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