June 10,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Health Department reminds you that June is healthy homes month. In the U.S. today, people spend close to 90% of their time indoors. National Healthy Homes Month (NHHM), created by HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes (OLHCHH), is an outreach campaign designed to help people connect the dots between their health and their home. This year’s overarching theme “Check Your Home; Protect Your Family”, was chosen to create awareness of what it means to have a healthy home by educating families of the importance of assessing ones home for potential health hazards; and to empower people to make change in order to create the healthiest home possible for their family.
Currently, millions of U.S. homes have moderate to severe physical housing problems, including dilapidated structure; roofing problems; heating, plumbing, and electrical deficiencies; water leaks and intrusion; pests; damaged paint; and high radon gas levels. These conditions are associated with a wide range of health issues, including unintentional injuries, respiratory illnesses like asthma and radon-induced lung cancer, and lead poisoning. The health and economic burdens from preventable hazards associated within home are considerable, and cost billions of dollars.
National Healthy Homes Month (NHHM) was established to focus national attention on ways to keep people of all ages safe and healthy in their home. It is aimed at boosting awareness and understanding of what federal and local resources are available. The events planned throughout the month will serve as a public communications campaign to promote awareness and advocacy, encourage local events, and provide resources and support to drive families to take action.
This year’s theme, Unlocking the Potential of America’s Children: Check Your Home-Protect Your Family focuses on the opportunity to protect current and future generations of children from the exposures to lead from contaminated paint, dust and soil; through the importance of home assessments and the impact it has on your health.
During NHHM, we aim to:
1. Raise awareness of the importance of home assessments and their impact on health;
2. Educate the public about free, local resources available; and
3. Encourage implementation of local activities and events in target communities.
The OLHCHH developed a 2018 National Healthy Homes Month Digital Resource Toolkit; which contains many online, digital resources and materials, to assist with building awareness and implementation at the local level. Visit their website at www.hud.gov/healthyhomes to download the toolkit.
For more information on National Healthy Homes Month 2018, please visit www.hud.gov/healthyhomes.
