Healthy Homes Healthy Kids: An integrated multidisciplinary response to address housing-related health conditions

Slum housing conditions: chipping and peeling paint, cockroaches, bedbug, rats, holes in the wall, mold, leaking plumbing, extreme heat or cold impact many of the children living in the low income, urban communities of downtown and south Los Angeles. Many of these children suffer from health conditions linked to their housing such as asthma, high blood lead, eczema.

Healthy Homes Healthy Kids is an environmental health collaborative project that integrates comprehensive pediatric medical care with education, case management services and legal advocacy to reduce children's exposure to health hazards present in their own homes. St. John's Well Child and Family Center (SJWCFC), one of the largest ‘safety-net' health care providers in Los Angeles is the lead agency of the HHHK collaborative.

Pediatric patients with housing-related health conditions are identified and referred by clinic providers. Referred patient's families are connected with HHHK Case Manager who links the family to a variety of services including health education classes, visual home assessments, case management, distribution and demonstration of non-toxic cleaning materials, tenant's rights education, and letters to landlords requesting repairs, and follow-up with city inspection units. The dosage of intervention depends on the need and interest level of patient families.

An evaluation comparing a range of health and housing indicators at multiple points in the project is currently being conducted. Expected results include decreased severity of housing related health conditions, improved housing conditions, and increased knowledge of home remediation techniques and sense of social capital.