Advancing Safe and Healthy Homes for Children & Families Initiative Spotlights National Lead Poison

Oct. 20, 2014 - PRLog -- According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly half a million children living in the United States have elevated blood lead levels that may cause significant damage to their health. The estimate is based on children with a blood lead level of 5 micrograms per deciliter or higher using data from national surveys conducted in 2007-2008 and 2009-2010. Major sources of lead exposure to U.S. children include lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust in deteriorating buildings and older houses. Children can also be exposed to lead from additional sources including lead in soil, take-home exposures from a workplace and contaminated drinking water.

To help increase awareness of childhood lead poisoning prevention efforts, the Advancing Safe and Healthy Homes for Children and Families Initiative (ASHHI) (http://www.ashhi.org/), a national program sponsored by The Kresge Foundation, along with Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is participating in the observance of National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, October 19-25, 2014.

This year's theme, “Lead-Free Kids for a Healthy Future,” underscores the importance of testing your home, testing your child, and learning how to prevent lead poisoning’s serious health effects. It totally integrates with ASHHI’s mission to promote comprehensive, community-based assistance designed to mitigate home hazards that affect the health of an estimated 30 million families and disproportionately impact the disadvantaged in our society.

To help call attention to the need for and progress that can be made in preventing lead poisoning, ASHHI is encouraging the medical community, healthy housing professionals and the public to learn more about the progress being made in its targeted communities—Alameda County (CA), Detroit (MI), Greensboro (NC), South Los Angeles (CA), Newark (NJ), and Omaha (NE)—by viewing the information and videos chronicling ASHHI’s “Results from the Field” housed on its website at www.ashhi.org.

“The significance of Lead Poisoning Prevention Week is that it helps to raise public awareness about the profound effects lead poisoning can have, especially in children,” said Pamela Shaheen, DrPH, director of ASHHI’s national program office. “Our goal is to build on that awareness and turn a stronger spotlight on the link between substandard housing that often has lead issues and serious childhood diseases like asthma. Our work is raising visibility in the community and demonstrating how even small pro-active efforts and investments can save emergency room visits and substantial health care dollars downstream,” she continued.

The Advancing Safe and Healthy Homes Initiative originally grew out of an earlier program to reduce childhood lead poisoning. Now a comprehensive effort, it addresses home hazards such as asthma-triggering allergens, fire hazards and repair issues. The initiative also aims to build the capacity of government and established nonprofit agencies to reduce the incidence of preventable illnesses, injuries, and hospitalizations caused by unhealthy home environments; support the development of best practices; and advance philanthropic investment in healthy homes. Its current grantees include: St. John’s Well Child & Family Center, Esperanza Community Housing and Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE) in California. Other sites are led by: Alameda County Healthy Homes Department (CA), CLEARCorps Detroit (MI), Greensboro (NC) Housing Coalition, Omaha (NE) Healthy Kids Alliance and the Newark (NJ) Department of Child and Family Well-Being.

About ASHHI … The Advancing Safe and Healthy Housing Initiative (ASHHI) promotes

comprehensive, community-based assistance designed to mitigate home hazards that affect

health and disproportionately impact the disadvantaged. An effort conceived and launched by

The Kresge Foundation in 2009, it is now managed independently through the ASHHI National

Program Office although The Kresge Foundation remains a primary funder. See more at www.ashhi.org.