HEALTHY HOUSE FUNDED PROJECTS (– primary project partner) 

Home Assessment, Occupant Education and Assistance Projects

Case Healthy Homes & Patients Program – Swetland Center for Environmental Health 

Preventive reduction of health and safety hazards for newborn and elderly patients of the Case Family Medicine Clinic; education of family medicine residents on housing hazards; home risk assessment and remediation.

o Funding - HUD to December 2008.

City-County Healthy House Project – Cuyahoga County Board of Health 

Preventive reduction of lead and asthma hazards, integrated with weatherization in high-risk housing; group education, home visits, technical assistance; education for home childcare providers.

o Funding – HUD to September 2009.

Tenants for Healthy Housing – Cleveland Tenants Organization 

Training and assistance for tenant organizers to educate residents of multi-unit family and elderly housing on residential health hazards and to help them secure needed repairs from building owners.
o Funding – US EPA and the McGregor Foundation to April 2010.

Lead-Safe Cuyahoga – Cuyahoga County Board of Health  

Preventive reduction of lead hazards in high-risk housing; group education, home visits and technical assistance on data management.
o Funding – HUD to September 2010.

Research Projects

Soil Lead Remediation Follow-up Assessment – University of Cincinnati 

Evaluation of lead in soil and dust several years post soil remediation.
o Funding – HUD to September 2008.

Childhood Lead Poisoning Primary Prevention – Cuyahoga County Invest in Children 

Parent education, follow-up interviews and dust sampling, and database development.
o Funding – Invest in Children to December 2008.

Mold & Moisture and Children’s Respiratory Health Follow-up – Swetland Center for Environmental Health

Follow-up visual assessment and vacuum dust sampling to evaluate longevity of moisture treatments.
o Funding HUD to March 2009.

Follow-up Evaluation of Window Treatments to Reduce Lead Hazards – National Center for Healthy Housing 

Follow-up visual assessment and wipe sampling to evaluate longevity of window treatments to reduce lead dust.
o Funding – HUD to March 2009.

Healthy House Projects - Other

Technical Assistance – Cleveland Department of Public Health

Lead hazard control database management, analysis of environmental lead testing data, compilation and analysis of lead disclosure data.
o Funding – HUD to September 2009.

Lead-Safe Living Campaign – City & County Health Departments 

Lead safety and lead regulations awareness, compliance assistance and enforcement for landlords.
o Funding – Invest in Children to December 2008.

Safer Roach Control for Asthma Trigger Reduction – American Lung Association

Parent education on integrated pest management for cockroaches.
o Funding – USEPA to December 2008.

AFFORDABLE GREEN HOUSING FUNDED PROJECTS (– primary project partner)

Green Cottages – Eco-Village and Community Land Trust

Green construction consulting, preparation of home-owners manuals, and affordable green housing workshop.
o Funding - Detroit-Shoreway CDC to March 2009.

Greening Your Home Workshops – Nature Center at Shaker Lakes

EHW's Building Science Consultant, Jim LaRue will present a series of eight workshops on affordable green renovations in January and February 2008.

Committees and Coalitions (for which EHW staff provide significant leadership)
• Cuyahoga County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)
• LEPC and County Emergency Services Advisory Board – Joint Task Group on Population Protection
• Cleveland Clean Air Century Campaign
• Greater Cleveland Asthma Coalition
• Greater Cleveland Lead Advisory Council
• Concerned Citizens Organized Against Lead
• Mittal Steel Good Neighbor Campaign
• Neighborhood Leadership Institute – Environmental Committee

Recent Projects

Pests & Asthma: Reducing Children's Exposures to Pesticides and Asthma Triggers
Targeting parents, building managers, child care providers and others who control/influence children's indoor environments, EHW educated them on safer and more effective pest control methods, focusing on pests associated with asthma triggers - cockroaches, rodents and dust mites.
Partners: The Northeast Ohio Neighborhood Health Services, the Otis Moss, Jr.- University Hospitals Medical Center, Greater Cleveland Asthma Coalition, CMHA and others. Funding: Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation, the Cleveland Foundation, USEPA Region 5.  See the following factsheet for more information:  Indoor Asthma Triggers, Printer-friendly Indoor, Asthma Triggers (pdf), Cockroach Control Guide, Printer-friendly Cockroach Control Guide (pdf)

Cockroach Allergen Assessment and Reduction
Cockroach allergen is a potent, ubiquitous and persistent asthma trigger in inner-city housing, increasing the frequency and severity of asthma attacks.  Working in CMHA housing units, EHW tested methods for 1) improved assessment of cockroach allergens, 2) safer elimination of cockroach infestation, and 3) effective cleanup of roach allergens. Partners: Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), Greater Cleveland Asthma Coalition, Johns Hopkins Allergy and Asthma Center and the US Agricultural Research Service. Funding: HUD Healthy House Initiative. For project summary click here or see the Final Report (pdf, 40 pgs). See also US EPA Case Study and National Center for Healthy House Case Study (pdf, 4 pgs.).

Mold/Moisture in Homes and Children's Respiratory Health
This project investigated the relationship between children's respiratory diseases, such as asthma and pulmonary hemorrhage, and mold and excessive moisture in their homes and evaluated environmental intervention strategies. EHW's work included: 1) assistance in development of a visual assessment procedure for mold and moisture problems in housing, 2) assistance development of treatment specifications for correction of mold, moisture, and roach problems in housing, 3) occupant education on control of housing-related health hazards, and 4) quality control of environmental assessment. See also our information on mold and mositure interventions. Findings from the study are reported in an article in Environmental Health Perspectives.
Partners: CWRU Medical School, University Hospital, Cuyahoga County Board of Health, County Department of Development, Cleveland Housing Network. Funding: HUD Healthy House Initiative grant to the Cuyahoga County Department of Development.

Community Outreach to Children with Asthma
This project of the Cleveland Empowerment Center worked with schools and families of children with asthma.  EHW provided consultation and training on asthma triggers education.
Other Partners: American Lung Association, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority. Funding: Ohio Commission on Minority Health.

Asthma Education for Child Care Providers
The Otis Moss, Jr. - University Hospitals Health Center educated child care center directors and teachers about care of children with asthma.  EHW provided education on the assessment and control of building-related health hazards in day care settings.
Partners: Otis Moss, Jr. - University Hospitals Health Center, Ministerial Day Care Association and American Lung Association. Funding: Sisters of Charity Foundation.

Impact of Soil Lead Hazard Control Measures on Exterior and Interior Dusts

EHW conducted the field work for a study of the impact of soil remediation on lead contamination of soil, exterior dust and interior dust. EHW staff collected soil and dust samples from house where soil lead hazard control work was and was not done under the HUD-funded  Lead Hazard Control Program in Cleveland from 1993-1998. Two methods of collecting exterior dust samples were compared. 
Partners: Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati. Funding: HUD Lead Research Grant.

 Tenants for Healthy Housing
A partnership with the Cleveland Tenants Organization and EHW, this project worked in three large low-income apartment buildings to train CTO members to conduct home health hazard assessments.  Data from the hazard assessments was used to inform and influence residents, building owners, and public officials to do their part to reduce housing health hazards. The project was featured in an article in ShelterForce and was used as a case study by National Healthy Homes Training Center and Network (pdf, 6 pgs)
Other Partners: Alliance of Cleveland HUD Tenants, Greater Cleveland Asthma Coalition. Funding: Community Environmental Health Resource Center, a project of the Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning.

 Educating Seniors About Home Health Hazards
The goal is to train tenant leaders in senior buildings about indoor environmental health and equip them to educate their peers. Indoor environmental health hazards typically pose far greater risks to human health than outdoor exposures, a disparity due both to the higher levels of toxics associated with confined spaces and the significant time spent indoors. Because older Americans’ respiratory and immune systems are often particularly vulnerable and because they spend so much time at home, this population is at special risk from health hazards in their homes. Older properties in poor physical condition typically pose more severe environmental health hazards. Educational material developed for the project is on the Alliance website.
EHW developed the curriculum and training materials and conducts the training.
Partners: The Cleveland Tenants Organization, Environmental Health Watch, Association of HUD Tenants and the Alliance for Healthy Homes. Funding: USEPA, the Cleveland Foundation.

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