The Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control Supports "Building a Healthy Neighborhood" Event in Denver

About 30 managers and staff from HUD’s Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control recently teamed with 400 other volunteers in Denver to help revitalize and make healthy living improvements in the 100-year old Denver neighborhood of Barnum. HUD partnered with non-profit Rebuilding Together and its local affiliate for the project. Local businesses and corporate partners also supported the work. A related project was creation of a new playground at Lakewood and Gulch Park.

The two-day "Building a Healthy Neighborhood" rehabilitation project of over 30 low-to-moderate income homes spearheaded the National Healthy Homes Conference held June 19-23, reflecting the Conference themes of creating sustainable solutions for safe and affordable housing, as well as establishing a strong new partnership with an important stakeholder organization. Both field and headquarters staff represented OHHLHC.

Jon Gant, Director of OHHLHC, said onsite that "When you go into a home, we’ve noticed over the years that there a lot of health hazards that are there. And, what we did is to partner with Rebuilding Together here to actually come into the neighborhood here and do something for the neighborhood. So, that when we leave, people will have an appreciation for what we are trying to do."

The "sweat equity" provided by OHHLHC was dedicated to range of improvements such as basic major and minor repairs, accessibility modifications, energy efficiency upgrades, and community landscaping. Many of the homes had never benefitted from such a wide range of help.

Viewing the busy scene, OHHLHC’s Special Assistant to the Director Eric Hornbuckle, "One of the primary focuses of this endeavor as you see all down the street is to promote healthy housing. So, beyond just cosmetics, we want to show how housing conditions can actually contribute to health impacts or negative health impacts."

This was an unusual project for Rebuilding Together because of its size and complexity, and the joint planning with OHHLHC was intense. Gary A. Officer, President and CEO, said "We do 10,000 homes a year. Most of our homes are in conditions like the one behind me. They need new roofs, they need new windows, they need full extensive retrofits. And all those things are done in a way that pretty much symbolizes what Rebuilding Together stands for and what HUD hopes to accomplish through this the Healthy Homes Conference."

All work was finished on time, being kept on track by supervisors well experienced in interior and exterior construction and building techniques. About $1.5 million in market value was delivered under the project.

Rebuilding Together is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization that strives to preserve affordable homeownership by providing rehabilitation services to those in need at no cost. The non-profit collaborated with its local affiliate and the other premier sponsors to help organize the event.

Painting, grouting, roofing, paving , fixing gutters that didn’t drain properly, were just a few of the jobs that had to be completed. "This is serious business-no goofing off! Its great to be doing this," said one OHHLHC volunteer.

"Everyone worked well together, and it is so rewarding to interact with the residents," commented another OHHLHC volunteer.

The new partnership was driven by a shared view of helping those in need and infusing healthy homes principles as part of transforming housing. The principal sponsor was Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation, also joined by HGTV, Wells Fargo, Kmart, Carter Oosterhouse, Carter’s Kids, and others.

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