HEFN

The Alliance for Healthy Homes is a national, nonprofit, public interest organization working to prevent and eliminate hazards in our homes that can harm the health of children, families, and other residents. These hazards include lead, mold, carbon monoxide, radon, pests, and pesticides. The Alliance advocates for policy solutions and builds community capacity to achieve:

• primary prevention by publicizing the importance of fixing housing-related health hazards before they cause poor health and impaired educational outcomes for children;
• practical solutions by identifying accessible, affordable tools that can make and keep every home healthy;
• environmental justice by insisting that housing and communities be decent, environmentally safe, and affordable for all;
• holistic approaches by highlighting comprehensive “whole house” strategies that address multiple hazards and their underlying causes; and
• asset preservation by helping community-based organizations, agencies, property owners, and residents recognize housing conditions that can lead to structural and interior deterioration, which can lead to a reduction in property value.

To reach its goals, the Alliance works closely with policy makers; community-based organizations; the housing industry; researchers; government agencies at the local, state, and federal level; and other stakeholders. The Alliance also provides strategic technical support to community-based organizations and state and local agencies across the nation.

Highlights of Alliance Achievements

• Anchors the national network of organizations working to improve conditions in housing to protect the health of children and families.
• Instrumental in shaping the landmark 1992 federal legislation that defined the nation’s approach to addressing lead-based paint in housing.
• Secured over one billion dollars in federal appropriations for HUD lead safety and healthy homes grants over the past decade.
• Helped develop landmark legislation and policies and provided technical assistance and support on lead poisoning prevention in Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Vermont, Cleveland, Rochester, and San Diego, among others.
• Through its Community Environmental Health Resource Center, partners with community-based organizations (CBOs) around the country to check homes for hazards. Through 2005, CBOs assessed 3,300 homes, prompted repairs, and accomplished public policy change to make housing healthier.
• Published a hurricane recovery guide in 2005 to assist community-based and other recovery organizations helping constituents in accessing housing and benefits, cleaning and rehabilitating salvageable homes, and participating in planning and decision making about the future of their towns and cities.
• Produced myriad reports, tool kits, and guides to help local communities improve prevention and correction of housing-related health hazards.

Healthy Homes = Healthy Families and Communities

Lead poisoning, asthma, carbon monoxide poisoning, and lung cancer from radon are at once individual diagnoses and public health problems that are closely connected to conditions in one’s home. These illnesses harm children and families, lead to poor educational outcomes, strain the health care system, cost the American economy billions of dollars every year, and diminish the capacity of citizens to contribute their talents and skills to the nation. The Alliance is at the forefront of helping every American have the opportunity to live in a home that is safe, healthy, and affordable.