Communities Organized Against Asthma and Lead (COAL)

描述(由申请人提供) 组织起来抗击哮喘和铅的社区：COIL项目将是德克萨斯州休斯敦的De Madres a Madres，Inc.、加尔维斯顿的德克萨斯大学医学分校、Casa de Amigos健康中心和德克萨斯州南方大学法学院的环境正义诊所之间的合作伙伴。这一合作伙伴关系将把休斯敦北区附近社区一个久负盛名的社区组织聚集在一起，其中包括德克萨斯州理工学院NIEHS中心的环境毒物学家、为北区附近地区服务的哈里斯县医院区诊所的卫生保健提供者，以及有应对弱势社区环境健康问题历史的律师和法律系学生。这一伙伴关系将解决这个社区家庭中两个紧迫的环境问题：儿童接触铅、油漆和可能引发哮喘的制剂。我们将首先通过一种新的沟通方法来解决这些问题，使用戏剧作为一种手段来教育和吸引社区的反应。这种方法将向社区通报煤炭项目，并向该项目的合作伙伴提供社区的当地知识。该项目的第二个重点将是服务于社区居民的需求，对他们的住所进行评估，以确定可能引发哮喘的铅和制剂的来源。油漆样品将进行铅含量测试。将测定空气中过敏原(尘螨、霉菌孢子、花粉)的水平，测量刺激性化学物质以及昆虫和啮齿动物的过敏原。UTMB将培训当地居民住房评估小组并进行实验室测试。居民将接受培训，使他们能够减少或消除家庭中的这些危险，他们将得到家庭评估小组的持续跟踪。医疗诊所和环境正义诊所将提供咨询服务，提供有关社区的数据，并在需要时在具体情况下提供协助。煤炭项目的主要目的是让De Madres有办法提供服务，减少社区儿童接触可能导致铅暴露和哮喘加重的制剂。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant) Communities Organized Against Asthma and Lead: Project COAL (Communidades organizadas contra asthma y plomo) will be a partnership between De Madres a Madres, Inc. in Houston, TX, The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Casa de Amigos Health Center, and the Environmental Justice Clinic at Texas Southern University School of Law. The partnership will bring together a well-established and respected community based organization in the Near North Side community of Houston, with Environmental Toxicologists in the NIEHS Center at UTMB, health care providers at the Harris County Hospital District Clinic serving the Near North Side, and attorneys and law students with a history of response to environmental health problems in disadvantaged communities. This partnership will address two pressing environmental problems in the homes of this community: exposure of children to lead, from paint, and to agents that can trigger asthma. We will address these issues first through a novel approach to communication using theater as a means to educate and to elicit responses from the community. This approach will inform the community about Project COAL and provide local knowledge from the community to the partners in this project. The second focus of the project will be to serve the needs of residents in the community by making assessments of their homes to identify sources of lead and agents that can trigger asthma. Paint samples will be tested for lead. Levels of allergens (dust mites, mold spores, pollen) in the air will be determined, irritant chemicals and allergens from insects and rodents will be measured. UTMB will train local resident home assessment teams and perform the laboratory tests. Residents will be given training to enable them to reduce or eliminate these hazards from their homes and they will receive consistent follow-up from the home assessment teams. The medical clinic and environmental justice clinic will serve in an advisory capacity and provide data about the community, and assist in specific situations when the need arises. The primary purpose of Project COAL is to give De Madres a Madres the means to provide services to reduce the exposure of children in their community to agents that can result in lead exposure and asthma exacerbation.