| The Healthy Homes Initiative
within the Department of Housing and Urban Development is a
resource that helps develop ways to integrate health considerations
into all housing programs. Methods to improve health conditions
also improve the soundness, value, and durability of the housing
stock. Healthy Homes grants are awarded competitively to government
agencies, universities, and other non-profit organizations across
the country to develop, evaluate, and disseminate cost-effective
tools and practices for preventing and controlling health hazards
in housing. Integrating healthy homes principles and practices
at low cost into existing maintenance, rehab, operation, design,
and construction can avoid costly mold and moisture problems
and reduce the risk of asthma and childhood lead poisoning.
The projects funded through the Healthy Homes Initiative have
produced a variety of multiple benefits:
Some projects research and test tools and practices affecting
other hazards in order to complement and supplement lead hazard
control activities. The projects have developed new assessment
tools and methods, used innovative targeting methods, created
new hazard remediation tools, and integrated lead safety strategies
with interventions to address other hazards.
Sites: Philadelphia, PA; New York City, NY; Providence, RI; Research
Triangle area, NC; multiple counties, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Boston, MA;
Madison, WI; Denver, CO; Seattle, WA; Erie County, NY
A growing body of research documents how housing is implicated
in the surging prevalence of asthma. These projects have developed
tools and approaches for reducing or eliminating asthma triggers
in the home environment. Grantees have researched the most
common indoor asthma triggers and have conducted interventions
to reduce indoor allergens, eliminate mold, control cockroaches,
and minimize exposure to pesticides.
Sites: Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, OH; Seattle, WA; Syracuse,
NY; New Orleans, LA; Milwaukee, WI; Montana; New York City, NY; Alameda
County, CA; Stamford, CT; Island, San Juan, Skagit, & Whatcom Counties,
WA; Madison, WI; Los Angeles, CA
Holistic projects tackle the multiple housing-related hazards
that are interrelated in cause and solution and take a “whole
house” approach. They have developed multi-hazard assessment
tools, created construction guidance for improving the “health”
of new structures, and demonstrated the cost-effectiveness
of “whole-house” interventions to remediate a
variety of health hazards.
Sites: Erie County, NY; Mahoning County, OH; Boston, MA (3); Phoenix,
AZ; Baltimore, MD; Bronx, NY; Long Beach, CA; Raleigh, NC; Durham, NC;
Cuyahoga County, OH; Denver, CO; Birmingham, AL; Seattle, WA
Acknowledging the importance of solutions affordable to the
highest-risk properties, these projects have focused on options
to create healthier homes at a relatively low cost. Projects
have provided tools such as HEPA vacuums, carbon monoxide
detectors, and dehumidifiers to low-income households; examined
cost-effective approaches to prevent and control mold growth
in homes with inadequate insulation; and developed inexpensive
visual assessment tools to detect the presence of allergens
and mold in homes.
Sites: Minneapolis, MN (2); Champaign-Urbana, IL; Kansas City,
MO; Fairbanks, Noorvik, & Unalaska, AK; Seattle, WA; Erie County,
NY; Brooklyn, NY; New Brunswick, NJ; Baltimore County, MD; Boston, MA;
Alameda County, CA; Birmingham, AL
In keeping with HUD’s goal to build community capacity,
these projects have focused efforts in specific neighborhoods
or communities, developed sustainable community-wide intervention
and healthy homes maintenance programs, and trained and employed
low-income community residents to assess and intervene with
problems.
Sites: Baltimore County, MD; Phoenix, AZ; Los Angeles, CA; Island,
San Juan, Skagit, & Whatcom Counties, WA; Birmingham, AL
Weatherization programs offer considerable potential for impacting
the health of residents – by remedying hazards while
improving energy efficiency and avoiding lead dust hazards
while disturbing lead-based paint or controlling asthma triggers.
These projects have integrated healthy homes practices into
weatherization efforts by educating weatherization contractors
on lead-safe and healthy homes work practices and preventing
mold and moisture problems.
Sites: Chicago, IL; Cuyahoga County, OH; Seattle, WA; Island,
San Juan, Skagit, & Whatcom Counties, WA; Madison, WI; Milwaukee,
WI
Recognizing the importance of increasing capacity to address
health hazards in housing, these projects have developed new
healthy homes tools and practices and trained individuals
in their use. Grantees in this category have trained community
residents, housing technicians, code inspectors, health department
personnel, health care providers, community health promoters,
and others how to use a variety of healthy homes methods and
tools.
Sites: Lowell, MA; Brooklyn, NY; Tulsa, OK; Birmingham, AL; Fairbanks,
Noorvik, & Unalaska, AK; Minneapolis, MN; Boston, MA; Kansas City,
MO; Alameda County, CA; New York City, NY; Seattle, WA; Brooklyn, NY;
Long Beach, CA; Los Angeles, CA
Several grantees have focused their projects on controlling
moisture problems to prevent mold growth. These projects have
developed assessment tools to detect hidden moisture and mold
problems, remediation tools to control moisture, and lower-cost
methods to identify mold problems.
Sites: Atlanta, GA (2); St. Louis, MO; New York City, NY; Watertown,
MA; Cincinnati, OH; Chicago, IL; Cuyahoga County, OH
To date, HUD has awarded 52 grants through the Healthy Homes Initiative.
Grant
awards have been geographically diverse, distributed among 23 states.
By the end of FY 2003, grantees reached over 444,000 people, trained 6,147
individuals in healthy homes activities, assessed 4,524 units, and completed
1,326 healthy homes interventions.
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