Healthy Homes Neighborhood Pilot

The Believe in a Healthy Newark coalition’s Healthy Homes Impact Team seeks to increase the number of “Healthy Homes” in our community, meaning homes that support the well-being of families and that are free of health hazards, specifically asthma triggers and lead. In the short term, our goals include increasing the number of homes and children screened for lead and asthma in the Fairmount and Upper Clinton Hill neighborhoods, and increase the number of families who are educated about these issues and referred to local remediation or abatement services. We also plan to strengthen coordination and communication among relevant stakeholders and service providers. In the longer term, the committee hopes that improving the health profile of homes, in coordination with other strategies to support families economically and socially, will result in improved youth health, reduced student mobility, reduced chronic absenteeism, and better developmental outcomes for children in these neighborhoods.

In the short term, our goals include increasing the number of homes and children screened for lead and asthma in the Fairmount and Upper Clinton Hill neighborhoods, and increase the number of families who are referred to local remediation or abatement services.

Members of the Healthy Homes Impact Team will work with early childcare facilities, schools, healthcare providers, and neighborhood associations to reach families with infants and very young children with the goal of testing the homes of all participating families for lead contamination, providing education to families about reducing lead and asthma hazards in their homes, and connecting families with remediation and abatement services that make homes safer and healthier for children. We will also conduct focus groups with participating families to learn more about the barriers they face to improving the health and safety of their homes. These focus groups, as well as best practices from other communities, will inform our policy recommendations to City of Newark officials and to New Jersey state agencies on how to improve home health in all Newark neighborhoods.

The Believe in a Healthy Newark coalition’s Healthy Homes Impact Team is delighted to share that the City of Newark has been selected as one of eight national winners of the 2017 Partners for Places grant award. The Newark award includes a total of $120,000 in national and local funds to support Healthy Homes work in the Fairmount and Upper Clinton Hill neighborhoods. Track our progress on Twitter: @Healthy_Newark, and learn more about our coalition’s work here.