Exposing Health Hazards in Housing

The time is ripe for housing-related health hazard assessment tools to be used by communities most affected by these hazards.  CEHRC has attempted to adapt these technical assessment tools in a manner that maintains scientific rigor while making them easy to use.  Data regarding health hazards in homes can have great power when used in organizing and advocacy, and they can support a wide range of policy goals and solutions.  Hazard data can help shift policy away from reacting to sick children and toward prevention through addressing hazards before exposure occurs.  Use of these tools raises important issues around working with residents, including benefits, unintended consequences, and protecting the health, privacy and legal rights of residents.  The links below delve deeper into these issues.

• Why Sample?
  Overview and links to discussion papers that explore the "whys" of assessing high-risk homes for health hazards as part of organizing and advocacy campaigns for solutions.
  
  
• Targeting Highest Risk Housing
  Some strategic considerations for seleting homes likely to have lead and other environmental health hazards.

• Hazard Assessment Tools
  This section contains tools and step-by-step instructions intended to provide a low-cost means for checking high-risk housing for health hazards. 

• Working with Community Residents: Opportunities and Responsibilities
  Opportunities and responsibilities related to working with residents of homes being investigated, resources for practitioners, avoiding unintended adverse consequences, protecting residents rights and privacy, ethical issues, Resident Agreement (revised January 2004) between organizations and residents.
  
  
• The Power of Hazard Assessment
  A presentation that provides an overview of community-based home hazard assessments as a tool for organizing and advocacy.

CEHRC is a project of the Alliance for Healthy Homes.  To help keep CEHRC moving forward, please consider making a contribution to the Alliance.