In an effort to promote healthier indoor environments within homes, HUD and the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) have announced this year’s winners of the HUD Secretary’s Award for Healthy Homes.
Academic institutions, government agencies, housing authorities, and community-based programs were nominated and a six-judge panel of experts evaluated the entries. The winning four programs included criteria such as, demonstration of the health impact on the population and physical environment, new policy innovations, economic stability, collaboration, and measurability.
"These awards collectively underscore the vital need to strengthen public understanding of the link between health and housing,” said Ben Carson, HUD secretary, in a press release. “Our awardees have uniquely contributed to increasing this awareness, and our partners who submitted nominations are making inroads every day towards improving the quality of lives."
The winning programs are:
Green and Healthy Homes Initiative, Baltimore
This program was founded in 1986 and has grown to become a leader in healthy homes. Ten years after their founding, they launched one of the nation’s first healthy homes programs that offered education, assessments, and housing interventions to help solve asthma triggers, injury risks, and other hazards. GHHI has served more than 20,000 clients and completed 4,000 home interventions in the homes of low-income families in Baltimore.
Fort Collins Healthy Homes Program and DIY Assessment Tool, Fort Collins, Colo.
Established in 2011 after recognizing the implications of poor air quality, the city of Fort Collins, Colo., wanted to create a program to address the issue. Community members volunteer their time to go into homes to conduct in-home assessments. They have conducted over 800 assessments, have helped roughly 2,500 residents, and created an online DIY Assessment Tool for people to assess their home on their own.
Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority/Thurgood Marshall Apartments, Milwaukee
The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority started this project to battle the dilemma of chronic homelessness. Through a low-income housing tax credit program, the organization built 24 one-bedroom units of permanent supportive housing for low-income adults who are homeless and suffer from alcoholism. They have created more than 600 units and are continuing to develop their supportive housing.
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C.; and Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans
Dr. Coby Schal at North Carolina State University and Dr. Felicia Rabito at Tulane University are working together to investigate the role of cockroaches on the quality of homes in the inner city and on roles in asthma morbidity. The team was able to find a link between entomologists and environmental epidemiologists, that helps create a better understanding of how to eradicate cockroach infestations.
