Healthy Homes & Community for High Point Families

描述(由申请人提供) 该项目的主要目的是解决西雅图High Point公共住房社区建筑、化学、生物和社会环境中对健康的多重威胁。因为High Point是一个由低收入有色人种组成的社区，而这些威胁在更富裕的社区中并不普遍，它们是环境不公平。High Point目前正在开始一个由联邦政府资助的3500万美元的HOPE VI重建项目。重建计划会大大改善已建成的环境。所有老化的旧单元将被新单元取代，新单元将被设计为健康之家，以促进居住者的健康，包括一些具有增强功能的单元，以满足哮喘和其他过敏症患者的需求。社区的物理布局将得到改造，以提供体育活动、社交、进入自然空间和加强物理安全的机会。重建将强调环境的可持续性。通常情况下，缺乏资源来对已建成环境进行昂贵的干预，或者重建项目忽视了环境的其他组成部分。该项目提供了一个独特的机会，通过利用通过该区域框架和希望六世基金提供的资源，在社区一级整合解决所有环境问题的战略。拟议的工作提供了一个机会来检验这样一种假设，即在社区一级综合各种环境层面的战略的环境正义办法将在社区健康(特别是哮喘患者的健康)、社区凝聚力、能力和能力以及环境可持续性方面产生积极变化。 社区居民、社区组织、公共卫生从业者、环境科学家、医疗保健提供者和住房专业人员一直在合作，以确定优先事项并就重建活动提供建议。拟议的工作将通过建立一个更正式的组织结构来进一步发展这一合作进程，该结构界定了每个伙伴的作用，平衡了伙伴之间的权力，建立了适当的决策和咨询小组，并规定了沟通渠道。该项目将：1)开展社区调查、焦点小组和主要线人访谈，以进一步确定环境问题和社区资产的特点；2)制定解决问题的其他战略；3)建立跨越语言和文化障碍的社区成员跨代小组，通过组织评估、教育、社区活动和项目，使整个社区参与进来，以改善所有方面的环境质量；4)制定“共同住房协议”，社区成员同意参与有益于健康和环境的行动，以换取社区提供的具体利益；5)在社区居民接受常规医疗保健的背景下，纳入环境评估和教育；6)开展家访，评估室内环境质量，并为居民提供教育和资源支持，以改善室内环境质量。在这些活动中，该项目将支持居民评估、了解和解决影响High Point的环境问题的能力，以便有能力对这些问题采取行动。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant) The primary aim of this project is to address multiple threats to health originating in the built, chemical, biological and social environments of Seattle's High Point public housing community. Because High Point is a community of low-income people of color, and these threats are not as prevalent in more affluent communities, they are environmental injustices. High Point is currently beginning a $35 million federally-funded HOPE VI redevelopment. Redevelopment will result in substantial improvements in the built environment. All the old, deteriorated units will be replaced with new ones, which will be designed as healthy homes to promote the health of their occupants, including some units with enhanced features to address the needs of people with asthma and other allergic conditions. The community's physical layout will be revamped to provide opportunities for physical activity, social interaction, access to natural spaces, and enhancement of physical safety. Reconstruction will emphasize environmental sustainability. Often, resources are lacking to implement costly interventions in the built environment or redevelopment projects neglect other components of the environment. This project provides a unique opportunity to integrate strategies at the community level that address all dimensions of the environment by leveraging resources available through this RFA with HOPE VI funds. The proposed work offers an opportunity to test the hypothesis that an approach to environmental justice that integrates strategies across multiple environmental dimensions at the community level will result in positive changes in community health (and specifically the health of people with asthma); community cohesion, competence and capacity; and environmental sustainability. Community residents, community-based organizations, public health practitioners, environmental scientists, medical care providers and housing professionals have been collaborating to identify priority issues and advise on redevelopment activities. The proposed work will further develop this collaborative process through establishing a more formal organizational structure which defines the roles of each partner, equalizes power among partners, establishes appropriate decision-making and advisory groups, and specifies communication channels. The project will: 1) conduct community surveys, focus groups and key informant interviews to further characterize environmental issues and community-based assets, 2) develop additional strategies to address issues, 3) establish intergenerational teams of community members that will reach out across linguistic and cultural barriers to engage the entire community by organizing assessment, education, community events and projects to improve all dimensions of environmental quality, 4) develop "mutual housing agreements" through which the members of the community agree to engage in actions to benefit health and the environment in return for specific benefits provided by the community, 5) include environmental assessment and education in the context of routine medical care received by community residents, 6) conduct home visits to assess indoor environmental quality and support residents with education and resources to improve it. Throughout these activities, the project will support the capacity of residents to assess, understand and address environmental issues affecting High Point in order to become empowered to act on them.