GRAND RAPIDS – A coalition of 24 community organizations presented a position paper to the Grand Rapids City Commission on September 27 calling for cooperation to address growing housing concerns as a result of the recent changes in the real estate market.
A new report prepared by the Michigan Network for Children's Environmental Health, of which the Healthy Homes Coalition is a member, reports estimates the annual environmentally attributable costs of lead poisoning at $3.2 - $4.85 billion for Michigan residents.
Beginning April 22, all renovators, remodelers and painters working in pre-1978 housing are now required to be an EPA-certified renovator trained in lead safe work practices. This requirement applies to all renovation projects, not just lead abatement. Effected trades include remodelers, renovators, window replacement workers, painters, electricians, plumbers, and any other trades that disturb painted surfaces during the course of their work. Landlords who make repairs themselves are also required to have this certification.
The Healthy Homes Coalition will be hosting their Annual Meeting 4:30pm Thursday, August 5.
Get the Lead Out! and Healthy Homes are the cover story for the MiBiz Sustainability Report for this quarter.
National and Local Experts Urge Lead Poisoning Testing For Children.
50% of children in Grand Rapids are not being tested for lead poisoning at the critical ages of 1 and 2.
GRAND RAPIDS – The Grand Rapids Get The Lead Out! campaign has been successful on many fronts. The number of homes having lead based paint abated is increasing. Yet an alarming number of children are not being tested for lead poisoning at the critical ages of 1 and 2.
“In children, lead can cause nervous system and kidney damage, learning disabilities, speech, language problems, decreased muscle and bone growth and hearing damage,” said Joan Dyer-Zykowski, Kent County Health Department Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program Manager. "The majority of children lead poisoned in Grand Rapids are between one and two years old."
The City of Grand Rapids Get the Lead Out! program is offering free lead training for professionals seeking to enter the lead hazard control, abatement and assessment fields. This is an opportunity for small business owners from the affected communities to receive free training to make them eligible for lead hazard control work funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The Healthy Homes Coalition is partnering with Home Repair Services to provide a Lead Safe Painting and Home Repair workshop for do-it-yourself home owners interested in making home repairs in a lead-safe fashion.
The Detroit Free Press published an indepth article on Sunday, May 16 that looks at the link between lead and learning. The article features a look at children's blood lead levels relative to their performance on MEAP scores later in life.
The US-EPA has launched a portal on its website where homeowners can find contractors who have been trained and certified in how to safely make repairs so that children are not exposed to lead hazards. The searchable database can be accessed by clicking here.
Come learn how the healthy Homes Coalition helps parents protect children from environmental health hazards in the home by joining us for a Building Healthy Homes Tour. These brief lunch hour or end of the day tours are a wonderful chance for you to hear some real stories about the work that we do at Healthy Homes.
Reserve your space today by calling (616) 241-3300 or emailing us.
Click on the title above to learn more and to see other future tour dates for summer 2010!
The Healthy Homes Coalition was recently awarded $26,248 in FEMA funding to make sure families with children have working carbon monoxide and smoke detectors in their homes. This award will allow Healthy Homes to serve 400 families!
Coalition Building
The Healthy Homes Coalition's primary approach is to organize and lead existing community organizations, programs and institutions in efforts to eliminate children's environmental health hazards found in older housing. Healthy Homes continues to facilitate the successful Get the Lead Out! Collaborative in Grand Rapids, brings together work teams on other topical issues, and consults with community groups across the state of Michigan. Healthy Homes is also a founding member of the Greater Grand Rapids Children's Environmental Health Initiative.
Coalition members realize that sustainable solutions are often those incorporated into public policy. To that end, Healthy Homes leads the community in designing and bringing about better public policy that ensures that children's homes are free from environmental health hazards.
Trained AmeriCorps members with the Healthy Homes Coalition assist families in collecting dust samples and developing and implementing strategies to prevent childhood lead poisoning. Assistance with environmental controls and minor home repair may be included on a case-by-case basis. CLEARCorps also checks homes for radon and carbon monoxide. Eligibility: Must live in the metro Grand Rapids area, must be low-moderate income, must have in the home a pregnant woman or a child under the age of six. Homeowners and tenants eligible. Our program is a proud affiliate of CLEARCorps/USA.
¡Hagalo usted de manera segura!
Spanish-speaking coaches work with Spanish-speaking households to teach lead-safe work practices at our site and in the home. We provide dust wipe supplies, materials for safe work practices and a helping hand. Eligibility: Must live in the metro Grand Rapids area, must be low-moderate income, must have in the home a child under the age of six or a pregnant women, primary language in the household must be Spanish, and must be a homeowner.
Lead Dust Sampling, a Calvin College / Healthy Homes Coalition partnership
Calvin College students bring free dust sampling supplies and will coach parents in the special methods used to check their own home. Calvin pays all lab costs (a value of $75), and students return with a report and resources. Eligibility: Must live in the Grand Rapids metro area, must be low-moderate income, must have in the home a child under the age of six or a pregnant women. Homeowners and tenants eligible. Will be asked to participate in a voluntary health psychology study.
Radon Testing to Protect Your Family from Cancer
Healthy Homes Coalition staff or volunteers will hang and collect a radon test kit (a value of $20). Your test results will be mailed to you. Eligibility: Free service to owner-occupied households with children 0-5 years or age or a pregnant woman. Must live in the City of Grand Rapids. Low-moderate income households only. Test kits are available for $5 for households without children, rental properties, those that exceed income guidelines and those that are outside of Grand Rapids. The Healthy Homes Coalition reserves the right to waive fees as it deems necessary.
Beginning July 1, 2008, the Healthy Homes Coalition will offer FREE installation of one CO alarm and up to three smoke detectors for Kent County households with children. Eligibility: Home must be in Kent County and have a full-time resident child 14 years of age or younger. Owners and tenants eligible.
Consulting
The Healthy Homes Coalition welcomes the opportunity to consult with landlords and homeowners regarding lead poisoning prevention and other healthy housing solutions. Properties must house children and be located in west Michigan.
For all services, call (616) 241-3300 or email Healthy Homes.
Making sure children grow up in homes that are healthy and safe is everyone’s job! The Healthy Homes Coalition is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Learn more about specific ways you can help protect children. Connect with us today!
742 Franklin St. SE // Grand Rapids, MI 49507 // 616.241.3300 p // 616.241.3327 f // info@healthyhomescoalition.org
Special thanks to the Dyer-Ives Foundation for their generous support of this website. © 2006-2010 Healthy Homes Coalition.
