Client education is an important component in increasing the lifespan of the home interventions your agency provides. Promoting behavior change in your client base can lead to more efficient energy usage habits as well as better health outcomes.
The following websites link to extensive client education resources for maintaining healthy homes:
Opportunity Council in Bellingham, WA is a private, non-profit Community Action Agency serving Whatcom, Island and San Juan Counties in Washington State.
The agency serves homeless and low-income families and individuals, with a goal of helping people work toward self-sufficiency.
Opportunity Council offers a broad scope of services that range from addressing immediate and crisis-oriented needs (food, emergency shelter, eviction-prevention) to longer-term programs that promote self-reliance in the community (early childhood education, home weatherization).
Opportunity Council has a vibrant home and energy services model, providing energy assistance, energy education, weatherization, healthy homes counseling, lead hazard reduction, and home repair.
Opportunity Council has been recognized nationally as “the birthplace of Weatherization Plus Health”.
The two healthy homes educational booklets below are used by agency staff during Healthy Homes educator home visits.
- Home Asthma Reduction Training (H.A.R.T) Workbook (PDF, 2.97MB) – Workbook designed to address children’s asthma in the home setting
- How Your House Works! (PDF, 1.09MB) – An EZ Guide & Workbook to Home Health principles. This booklet highlights many important aspects of how a home’s aspects relate to health
The Healthy Homes Partnership builds upon the activities of United States Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control (HUD) that address housing-based health and safety risks. Its network of state coordinators have partnered with state agencies, medical professionals, schools, and community groups to educate families on home health hazards.
Maine Indoor Air Quality Council
The Maine Indoor Air Quality Council is an interdisciplinary cooperative of professionals formed in 1998 to promote the improvement of all indoor air environments in the state. The Council operates according to the principle that understanding indoor air quality requires a multi-dimensional approach. Consequently, the Council and its Board brings together diverse professionals from the medical, technical, and policy arenas to work towards a common goal. Membership includes physicians, nurses, engineers, maintenance managers, lawyers, toxicologists, insurers, industrial hygienists, respiratory therapists, educators, architects, legislators, and public policy decision-makers.
South Dakota Safety Council’s mission is to improve the quality of life for the people of South Dakota by reducing incidents, injuries, and occupational illnesses from preventable causes.
Oklahoma’s Healthy Homes for Healthy Families
The Oklahoma Healthy Homes for Healthy Families Program, administered by the Oklahoma Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, is an initiative to provide a more comprehensive approach to tackling housing-related health hazards.
The Healthy House Institute
The Healthy House Institute (HHI) provides consumers with information to make their homes healthier. HHI strives to be the most comprehensive educational resource available for creating healthier homes. To this end, HHI treats the home like an ecosystem with many interrelated parts, covering topics in-depth such as air and water quality, building, remodeling and furnishing, cleaning and housekeeping, health and safety, ventilation, lighting, energy efficiency, and more.
