Addressing the Impact of Unhealthy Housing
After officials banned the use of lead in many products, there was no comprehensive and concentrated effort to remove it from homes, resulting in generations of children exposed to it through lead-based paint. In response, the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched the Lead Hazard Reduction Program in 1992 to protect children and their families from housing-related health and safety hazards. This initiative allows communities to apply for grants and secure funding to address environmental hazards, such as lead paint, in homes.
Connecticut Children’s established the Connecticut Children’s Healthy Homes Program (Healthy Homes) in 2003 to remediate lead-based paint in Connecticut homes with support from the federal Lead Hazard Reduction Program. Initially, the sole focus of Healthy Homes was to make housing units lead-safe. We primarily served low- to moderate-income families in 15 communities with funding support from HUD and the State of Connecticut. A majority of our referrals came from pediatricians and local health officials after a child’s lead screen indicated concentrated levels of lead in their blood.
Over the course of the past 17 years, Healthy Homes has secured more than $34 million in federal funding and $29 million in matching grants from community partners and state agencies. This funding enabled us to make more than 3,000 homes lead safe, protecting more than 1,800 children
Expanding to Address Other Home Hazards
Throughout the years, our understanding of the connection between housing quality, stability and affordability has grown. We now know that healthy, safe and stable housing impacts a family’s capacity to grow and thrive. It affects a child’s ability to learn in school and a parent’s ability to create and maintain a nurturing environment for their children. Housing, along with access to nutritious foods, reliable transportation and stable employment opportunities, all correlate with stronger families and stronger communities.
Armed with that knowledge, team members realized there were other hazards commonly found in older homes that Healthy Homes could address to improve outcomes for children and their families. In 2015, we expanded the program’s focus to include other health and safety hazards, such as mold and moisture issues, pest manifestations, fire and safety hazards, trip and fall hazards, radon and asbestos.
With the expanded scope and focus came new opportunities for funding. In 2018, Healthy Homes received a generous $10 million grant from the Connecticut Department of Housing to deploy efforts statewide. This funding enables us to not only make homes lead safe, but to also address other environmental hazards, such as those identified above by:
- replacing windows and doors, resurfacing walls and floors, and repairing failed exterior siding to mitigate lead exposure,
- installing ventilation fans to reduce asthma-triggering mold and moisture in bathrooms and kitchens, and
- replacing broken stair treads and handrails to eliminate trip and fall hazards.
Expanding our focus and working statewide enhances our capacity to not only address the lingering effects of lead paint in homes, but to also address these other concerns to improve the overall health, development, and well-being outcomes of young children.
One of the children we helped through the years is Fredrik, who has asthma. Our inspectors found water pooling in his basement, as well as lead on the outside of his home. We remediated the concerns and Fredrik is now thriving.
>Read more about Fredrik's story here.
