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2002 Healthy Urban Communities Grant Program
In 2002, the partnership expanded to include the Children’s Environmental Health Program. Through this partnership, the Healthy Urban Communities Grant Program was established. Eligible applicants included community-based non-profit; grassroots organizations; and local municipalities participating in projects that would improve the quality of life for New Englanders living in urban areas. For the purposes of this competitive grant program, “urban” refers to a New England city which has a population of at least 35,000 people, according to 2002 Census Data. This program was intended to provide seed money for projects addressing one or more of the following goals: Environmental Health; Capacity Building on Environmental and Public Health Issues; Preserving & Restoring Urban Natural Resources and Open/Green Space; Urban Development & Redevelopment; and Urban Transportation & Mobility.
Application Guidance
2002 Healthy Urban Communities Grant Program (PDF)
(19 pp., 282 KB, about PDF)
Grantee Summaries
Connecticut
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center
Asthma Center
Effectiveness of an Allergen Reduction Intervention in Child Care
Centers $30,000
Asthma is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children, especially urban, minority children who are at the greatest risk of developing the disease. Indoor air quality associated with increasing allergen exposure is a major factor in rising asthma prevalence. The purpose of the Allergen Reduction Intervention project is to determine whether or not allergen reduction strategies can be successfully implemented in a childcare environment. The project will include an environmental survey of 20 childcare centers in the Hartford area. Allergen reduction methods will be introduced into 10 randomly-selected childcare centers. The effect of the allergen reduction methods will be assessed by conducting environmental sampling at both mitigated and unmitigated childcare centers. The results will be used to develop a 5-year plan aimed at examining the prevalence and development of respiratory illness in children entering childcare.
Measures of Success: Introduction of allergen reduction methods to 10 childcare centers. Environmental sampling and evaluation. Implementation of an education program for Hartford childcare providers and owners about asthma, asthma risk factors and allergen reduction. Will target 100 childcare centers with more than 200 childcare workers for participation in the education program.
Project Partners: The University of Connecticut Pulmonary Research Consortium, CCMC Asthma Center, and Hartford Area Child Collaborative..
American Lung Association of Connecticut (ALAC)
Breath Express
$25,000
The American Lung Association of Connecticut works to prevent lung disease and promote respiratory health by educating the public about the effects of tobacco smoke and other pollutants on the respiratory system. The Breath Express is an educational center on wheels which brings the ALAC program to schools and community centers. Its mobility allows the ALAC to expand the scope of its educational efforts and conduct outreach through established community organizations. The program will include information on the importance of a smoke-free environment for children with asthma and will promote the Take the Smoke-Free Home Pledge.
Measures of Success: Provide educational outreach to 50 Connecticut schools and community events.
Project Partners: Connecticut Department of Public Health, Greater Hartford Jaycees Foundation, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Mobilize Against Tobacco for Children’s Health Coalition, J. Walton Bissell Foundation, Hartford’s Asthma Call to Action, Sam’s Club Foundation, SNET-Employee Community Service Fund, Buckley Foundation Trust, and Connecticut Public Broadcasting.
City of Bridgeport
In-Home Asthma Education & Mitigation $29,000
The goal of the In-Home Asthma Education and Mitigation Project is to lower the number of asthma cases among low-income citizens of Bridgeport, CT. Bridgeport has the second-highest juvenile asthma prevalence rate among children in Connecticut on Medicaid (11%). The program will identify 100 families that have children with moderate-to-severe asthma for group education. One-quarter of these families will also receive in-home education and assessments. A mitigation plan for removing household asthma triggers will be provided to those in need. Financial aid will be provided for at least 10 of the families, based on urgency of need.
Measures of Success: Conduct educational outreach to 100 families with children with moderate to severe asthma. Conduct 25 in-home asthma education sessions and trigger assessments. Provide financial assistance for mitigation measures to 10 families.
Project Partners: City of Bridgeport, Park City Primary Care Center, Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition Health Task Force, Habitat for Humanity, and Bridgeport Energy Corporation.
Hartford Regional Lead Treatment Center
Healthy Homes: Lead, Asthma, and Injury Safe
$5,000
The Hartford Regional Lead Treatment Center (HRTLC) provides comprehensive treatment, education, temporary lead, asthma and injury safe housing, and housing relocation to regional at risk children and their families. The Center has worked with Hartford schools to improve home-based management of asthma and lead exposure. This year, the program will partner either with Hartford’s Sanchez Elementary School, chosen for its location in an area of substandard housing and high poverty, or with another demographically similar school. The program will reduce related school absenteeism and hospital visits.
Measures of Success: Promote home-based management of lead and asthma risks, with the ultimate goal of reducing related school absenteeism and hospital visits. Provide asthmatic children with treatment solutions. Provide in-home risk assessments for more severe cases.
Project Partners: The Connecticut Citizen’s Research Group, Sanchez Elementary School (Hartford City Schools), and the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.
Connecticut Department of Public Health,
Division of Environmental Epidemiology & Occupational Health
Urban Schools & Indoor Air Quality
$30,000
Indoor air quality is a significant concern in urban school settings. The difficulty in addressing this issue is compounded by the large number of individual schools and the limited resources available. The Department of Public Health has been successful in promoting and implementing the EPA Tools for Schools program in numerous Connecticut schools. This project seeks to significantly expand these efforts by developing and implementing a two-set training program for affected communities. For schools in small to moderate-sized eligible cities, members of the Connecticut School Indoor Air Research Team will directly train Tools for Schools committees. For larger cities, such as Hartford, Bridgeport, and New Haven, a “train the trainer” program will be developed and implemented. There will be no more than six schools represented at any one training session, in order to promote interactivity.
Measures of Success: Directly train Tools for Schools committees in 40 schools. Train trainers in 2 larger cities who will in turn provide access to over 150 schools.
Project Partners: The Connecticut Indoor Air Resource Team, including: the Connecticut Department of Public Health, the Connecticut Education Association, the American Lung Association of Connecticut, CT COSH, the University of Connecticut - School of Medicine, Yale University, CT - OSHA, CT DEP
Massachusetts
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Alternatives for Community and Environment, Inc. (ACE) |
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Boston Public Health Commission: Asthma Prevention and Control Program |
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Lead Action Collaborative |
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Lawrence Grassroots Initiative |
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Nuestras Raices, Incorporated |
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The Food Project |
Alternatives for Community and Environment,
Inc. (ACE)
On the Move: Greater Boston Transportation Justice Coalition
$30,000
Alternatives for Community & Environment is a community organization that works with the community to address issues of environmental justice. The aim of the On the Move project is to promote reform within the transportation sector. Through education, outreach, and community organization, On the Move organizes Boston’s low-income communities of color into a coordinated voice for change. The project also seeks to empower the residents of these communities to act as leaders of the organization. The key issues for On the Move are fixing current problems with the transit system, making it accessible to a wider range of citizens, introducing clean technology into the transit system, and linking transit to housing of all levels.
Measures of Success: Conduct 6-8 workshops to educate residents. Educate at least 200 residents about the public health and environmental benefits of choosing public transportation over cars. Train 10-15 individuals to become organizational leaders and effective members of the transportation and development planning process.
Project Partners: Arborway Committee, Bikes Not Bombs, Campaign to Protect Chinatown, Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, Egleston Square Neighborhood Association, Greater Four Corners Action Coalition, MASSPIRG, T Riders Union, and Washington Street Corridor Coalition.
Boston Public Health Commission: Asthma
Prevention and Control Program
Home SAFE (System for an Asthma Free Environment) Program
$25,000
The Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) is an independent public agency which serves as Boston’s Board of Health. Environmental tobacco smoke and mouse and cockroach infestation in the home are some of the leading triggers of asthma in urban children. The BPHC will work with other asthma educators to assemble an asthma and environmental assessment kit for use in public and private housing. This kit will be based on the EPA Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools kit and will include educational materials, asthma supplies, and resources and referral information. After testing and refinement, the kit will be provided to the Commission Asthma Program home visiting program as well as to various community organizations through the Commission’s Community Health Education Center.
Measures of Success: Meet with project partners to assemble Home SAFE kits. Field test kits in 30 homes. Distribute refined kits for use by 300-500 households per year.
Project Partners: Action Against Asthma Program, Jamaica Plain Asthma Environmental Initiative, and Community Health Education Center.
Lead Action Collaborative
Boston Blueprint to End Childhood Lead Poisoning
$25,000
The Lead Action Collaborative is a partnership of non-profit organizations, foundations, and government agencies working to substantially reduce the incidence of childhood lead poisoning in Boston’s highest risk neighborhoods since 1993. The Boston Blueprint is a collaborative effort aimed at eliminating this condition by 2005. The project will include using existing data to identify and target communities at risk, working to facilitate access to safe housing for families with children, and promoting lead poisoning prevention through screening, education, and outreach.
Measures of Success: Decrease number of lead poisoned children in target neighborhoods by 25% by the end of 2003, 50% by the end of 2004, and 100% by the end of 2005. Track progress of community organizations in target neighborhoods. Recruit community organizations to participate in the Lead Action Collaborative.
Project Partners: Boston Public Health Commission, Bowdoin Street Health Center, Conservation Law Foundation, Codman Square Health Center, Dorchester House Multi-Service Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Health Care for All, Inspectional Services Department, Legal Services Center, Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, MA Property Insurance Underwriting Association, New England Lead Coordinating Committee, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (Boston Branch), and Tufts Institute of the Environment
Lawrence Grassroots Initiative
Green Communities
$20,223
Lawrence, Massachusetts is the 23rd poorest community in the United States and home to a number of environmental burdens. The Lawrence Grassroots Initiative will create a team of “Urban Ecologists” who will work to address issues of environmental health throughout the City. The Urban Ecologists will provide “green audits” to show citizens how to reduce the use of toxics in their homes and improve indoor air quality. The team will also survey and map vacant lots in the community so that rehabilitation projects can be planned. The team will also hold community forums to educate the community about environmental justice, concepts of urban ecology, sustainability, and civic involvement.
Measures of Success: Recruit 10-15 residents to participate in Urban Ecology Team. Conduct at least 60 “Green Audits” for community residents. Convert at least four suitable vacant lots into pocket parks, community gardens, and playgrounds. Conduct three community planning forums.
Project Partners: Lawrence Community Works, Lawrence-Methuen Community Coalition, Arlington Neighborhood Association, District “C” Weed and Seed Committee, Lawrence Environmental Action Group, Lawrence Greens, and Casa de Salud.
Nuestras Raices, Incorporated
Holyoke Vacant Lots Planning Project
$15,000
The City of Holyoke has hundreds of vacant lots located in its predominately Latino downtown area. The lots are unsafe and potentially contaminated and deter commercial investment. Nuestras Raices and Nueva Esperanza will work with the Holyoke Planning Department to promote the safe re-use of vacant lots. The needs and priorities of the community will be incorporated into the plan through rigorous community participation. This will be developed through door-to-door organizing and networking with other communities. A development plan will be produced through a series of community charrettes and meetings and presented to the Mayor and City Council for consideration. The Redevelopment Committee of the City Council has pledged to follow recommendations of the neighborhood when finalizing decisions regarding vacant lots.
Measures of Success: Establish vacant lot committees in 2-3 low-income Holyoke neighborhoods. Conduct community-wide meetings, community walks, and GIS mapping. Conduct community charettes and produce a development plan.
Project Partners: Nueva Esperanza, Inc., City of Holyoke Planning Board
The Food Project
Urban Education and Capacity Building
$14,403
The Food Project responds to locally-articulated, high-priority environmental justice issues through its community-based urban agriculture and capacity-building initiatives. The Food Project will train, educate, and employ urban youth from Roxbury and Dorchester to practice sustainable urban agriculture and integrated pest management on its urban vacant lots that have been reclaimed as small farms including the West Cottage Street Lot. The youth, Food Project staff, and community residents will work together to learn about environmental hazards including lead poisoning and pesticide contamination, and will be taught safe and sustainable techniques including integrated pest management and other pesticide-free techniques in urban food production. The goal of the project is to increase community capacity to create a safe, pesticide-free urban food system throughout greater citizen, corporate, and environmental group engagement and action.
Measures of Success: Establish a neighborhood gardener network to conduct neighborhood-wide soil testing. Create GIS maps of agricultural resources and environmental health risks in the neighborhood.
Project Partners: Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative
New Hampshire
Nashua Public Health Department
Childhood Lead Poisoning Reduction through Education and Self Reporting
in Underserved and Non-English Speaking Populations $23,740
Downtown Nashua has grown by over 25% in the last decade. Due to crowded living conditions and the age of the housing stock, downtown Nashua is a high risk area for lead poisoning. Many of the residents of the area are non-English speaking recent immigrants. The goals of this project are to educate the high risk population about the hazards of lead poisoning and to promote and increase the self-reporting of lead hazards by the high risk population. The Department will hold educational seminars for landlords, daycare facilities, schools, and advertise these events through existing community organizations. Seminars will be publicized through appropriate cultural media The Department will also distribute educational materials to residents living in census tracts identified as high-risk areas.
Measures of Success: Documentation of improved self-reporting of lead issues to local physicians and Public Health. Analysis of questionnaires delivered to target families. Documentation of home visits aimed at decreasing lead hazards. Increased utilization of local clinics and physicians for lead screening and treatment.
Project Partners: Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Nashua, Incorporated.
Rhode Island
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Childhood Lead Action Program |
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Northern Rhode Island Conservation District |
Childhood Lead Action Program
Lead Collaborative: Establishment of a Rhode Island Lead Collaborative
$30,000
The Childhood Lead Action Project(CLAP) works to eliminate childhood lead poisoning in Rhode Island through citizen education, parent support, and advocacy. CLAP will work to further develop and sustain the Rhode Island Lead Collaborative, a network of stakeholders involved in lead poisoning prevention education and outreach in Rhode Island. The Collaborative serves as a vehicle for communication and coordination among lead educators. The project will provide more training for lead poisoning prevention educators, increased collaboration between agencies, and additional outreach to leaders of faith-based communities.
Measures of Success: Conduct monthly Collaborative meetings. Contact faith-based organizations and conduct presentations on lead poisoning to engage leadership.
Project Partners: The Housing Resources Commission, Rhode Island Housing
Northern Rhode Island Conservation District
Do’s and Don’ts for the Woonasquatucket River: Urban
Rivers Team-Health & Education Subcommittee
$18,400
The Woonasquatucket River, which flows from suburban Rhode Island into downtown Providence, contains high levels of mercury, PCBs, and dioxins. These can be found in the sediment along the river and in the fish which inhabit it. Exposure to the chemicals in the river, through swimming or fishing, is a major public health concern. Children and low-income citizens, especially those who supplement their diet through subsistence fishing, are at an increased risk. The NRICD has worked for many years to educate the population about appropriate use of the river through The Do’s and Don’ts campaign. This project will continue that effort while working to expand the impact and sustainability of the program. The NRICD will create a tool kit that can be used in other urban watersheds and pilot the new program with the Blackstone River Watershed Council. In addition, the NRICD will create an educational video about the Woonasquatucket River that can be used by teachers for years to come.
Measures of Success: Continuation of the education program aimed at elementary schoolchildren. Development of a tool kit which can be used by other Urban Rivers Teams, Creation of a Do’s and Don’ts video of the Do’s for teachers to use.
Project Partners: Audobon Society, Blackstone River Watershed Council, Save the Bay, Rhode Island Department of Health, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Rhode Island Rivers Council, Elementary schools in Providence, North Providence, Johnston, and Smithfield, Urban Rivers Team, Urban Rivers Team Health and Education Subcommittee.
Vermont
Vermont Forum on Sprawl
Traditional Vermont Neighborhoods $30,000
Children in urban environmental settings face many health risks including asthma and obesity, in part due to the design of urban areas. The goal of this project is to encourage students to evaluate the health levels of their communities, and then act as agents of change in making them healthier. Children from a Burlington after school program will participate in this program. The children will learn about sprawl and smart growth and how development can impact the health of a neighborhood. The children will then assess the health levels of their communities, making links between community design and the lifestyle that it promotes/discourages. They will interview members of the various groups involved with community planning and public health, in order to create a documentary about what can be done to revitalize neighborhoods and make themselves healthier. Finally the children will formulate an education and outreach plan, aimed at promoting healthy community design and lifestyle changes.
Measures of Success: Participation by 100 youth in after school program. Development of demonstration programs to improve neighborhood health. Creation of a documentary on urban design and health.
Project Partners: the King Street Youth Center, the Vermont Department of Public Health, Vermont Public Television, the Greater Burlington YMCA
New England
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The Medical Foundation |
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Northern Rhode Island Conservation District |
The Medical Foundation
Asthma Regional Council (ARC) $35,000
The Asthma Regional Council is a multi-state, interdisciplinary group aimed at addressing asthma from an environmental standpoint. The Medical Foundation will coordinate the ARC, providing necessary support and oversight to convene meetings and manage on-going communications. Through effective leadership of the ARC, the Medical Foundation will work towards the development of effective tools to control environmental triggers of asthma. This will include the development and coordination of surveillance, outreach, and education tools. The Council will also serve as a forum for sharing ideas across sectors. This will include training programs for developers, coordination between state programs, and sharing of resources and progress to the benefit of all members.
Measures of Success: Convene Council meetings and conference calls. Track progress of ARC subcommittees. Incorporate healthy housing guidance into developments. Build asthma surveillance system across states. Develop cleaner fuel purchasing alliances.
Project Partners: Council membership consists of the regional directors of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the State Commissioners of health, housing, education, and environment, directors of large municipal housing authorities and select representatives from managed health care organizations, housing, health, education, and environmental advocacy organizations.
Massachusetts Department of Public Health,
Bureau of Environmental Health Assessment
Enhancing Massachusetts & New England Regional Pediatric Asthma
Surveillance Using School Health Records $35,000
Current data sources for tracking pediatric asthma such as hospital discharges and emergency room visit records are extremely limited and do not accurately depict the prevalence of asthma in communities. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MA DPH) has conducted a pilot study which utilized school health records to assess asthma prevalence in schools, and this methodology was found to better reflect the impact that asthma has on children. This project will expand the pilot program and apply this methodology to 109 other communities.
Measures of Success: Assess asthma prevalence in 109 new communities using piloted methodology.
Project Partners: Massachusetts Department of Education, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Enhanced School Health Program, US Environmental Protection Agency