Environmental hazards in the home harm millions of children each year. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched its Healthy Homes Initiative (HHI) to protect children and their families from housing-related health and safety hazards.

What is the Purpose of the Healthy Homes Initiative?

Many health and safety hazards in the home are preventable. The Healthy Homes Initiative builds upon the Department's existing activities in housing-related health and safety issues - including lead hazard control, building structural safety, electrical safety, and fire protection - to address multiple childhood diseases and injuries in the home. The Initiative takes a holistic approach to these activities by addressing housing-related hazards in a coordinated fashion, rather than addressing a single hazard at a time. To direct these efforts, HUD developed a preliminary plan of baseline research and demonstration projects for HHI with the assistance of a panel of nationally-recognized experts from the private sector and federal, state, and local governments.

Participating in the Healthy Homes Initiative

Making a Difference: Healthy Homes Activities

HHI activities focus on researching and demonstrating low-cost, effective home hazard assessment and intervention methods, as well as on public education that stresses ways in which communities can mitigate housing-related hazards. Eligible activities may include:

• developing low-cost methods for hazard assessment and intervention
• evaluating the effectiveness of interventions
• building local capacity to educate residents and mitigate hazards
• developing and delivering public-education programs