Women for A Healthy Environment

Healthy homes: the environmental protection agency (epa) reports americans spend about 90% of their time indoors. A significant amount of that time is spent in our homes, so these places should be as Healthy as possible. Women for A Healthy Environment (whe) educates community members about the many potential environmental risk factors in and around the home (such as lead, radon, mold, poor air quality, pesticide exposure, and the array of hazards found in consumer products) that impact public health. As part of our outreach, programming and technical assistance, staff provide information on reducing exposure to environmental harms. See additional information on schedule o.children are our most vulnerable population. Pound for pound children breathe more air, drink more water and consume more food than adults. Therefore, whe offers solutions for creating A Healthy and safe home Environment for families, with an emphasis on working in environmental justice communities. This programming engages families visiting social service and health care agencies with tools, information and resources that focus on creating A green and Healthy home Environment. The workshops and online materials educate participants on potential environmental hazards in the home and provide solutions for change like utilizing safer cleaning methods and products, providing water and air filters, and connecting families to legal aid and other social services. Whe's Healthy homes program educated over 3,000 individuals during this fiscal year, including attending over 80 community programs. Neighborhood-based work was delivered in allegheny county's environmental justice communities by whe's community health workers. This included conducting 55 Healthy home assessments. Staff also distributed over 370 Healthy home packets that included radon tests and weatherization kits. Whe staff provided assistance to families who had concerns about lead exposure in the home, some with children diagnosed with elevated blood lead levels. Lastly, during the last year, whe staff was A collaborator with the university of pittsburgh water collaboratory and the pittsburgh study, as well as the pittsburgh water and sewer authority's community lead response advisory committee and the pa asthma partnership and pa department of Healthy environmental health advisory committee.

Healthy early learning: the american academy of pediatrics' council on environmental health has stated that "those who care for children (childcare staff, parents or guardians, physicians, schools) should make every effort to minimize the negative health and developmental effects of toxin exposure. During infancy, children often explore their Environment on the floor, exposing themselves to potentially harmful pollutants brought indoors from outside, cleaning products used on floor surfaces, and pesticides used on outdoor grounds. See additional information on schedule o.through stages of development, infants and toddlers frequently place objects in their mouths further increasing exposures. They have higher respiratory and metabolic rates, as well as an immature blood/brain barrier and immune system. Caregivers must take precaution, become informed about environmental hazards, and make efforts to reduce or eliminate certain toxins in their environments." Through whe's Healthy early learning program staff provides technical assistance focused on creating A Healthy Environment for the youngest population, infants and children. Through A combination of mini-grants, educational programs and technical assistance, whe staff certify early learning centers as eco-healthy. This is A program created by the children's environmental health network's eco-healthy child care (ehhc) program. This program partners with childcare professionals to eliminate or reduce environmental health hazards found within or around childcare facilities. Whe staff utilizes the eco- Healthy child care checklist to work with centers to adopt healthier, greener practices in their facilities. During fiscal year 23, staff certified 50 centers as eco-healthy in philadelphia. Staff held environmental health webinars for philadelphia providers, reaching over 190 individuals. Whe staff works with centers to minimize and mitigate environmental risks, which both children and employees may come into contact with daily. Through the Healthy early learning program, centers have acquired green cleaning products, purchased filtered water stations, and addressed indoor air quality issues. In addition, this fiscal year, whe launched the pa Healthy childcare partnership, bringing together government agencies such as the office of child development and early learning (ocdel) with early learning providers to address environmental health concerns in the childcare setting.lastly, this program provides funds and technical expertise to centers for lead and radon testing, as well as remediation. Twenty centers were supported through the 1000 hours A year program and received lead and radon testing, as well as lead abatement and radon mitigation systems when necessary, creating A Healthy learning Environment. Whe also launched A lending library to loan commercial hepa vacuum and mopping systems to early learning centers who wished to conduct deep cleaning to address lead hazards. This ensures hundreds of students and staff are protected from these hazards.

Healthy schools: Healthy schools pa works closely with the school community, including administrators, staff (school nurses, facility directors, food service directors), teachers and parents, to identify and remediate environmental risks in schools across southwestern pa. we provide information, support, and hands-on expertise so that children can thrive and learn in Healthy, toxic-free settings. Whether A school district is renovating A school, building A new facility, or maintaining existing buildings, many environmental factors contribute to negative health impacts.see additional information on schedule o.curriculum: Women for A Healthy Environment's (whe) Healthy schools pa program engages members of the school community to build an advocacy network for green and Healthy schools, advance social and policy change in school systems, create collaborations that address environmental health risks, and foster Healthy places for children to learn and grow. The lessons focus on air quality (indoor and ambient), water quality, food and the Environment, and chemistry in consumer products. This fiscal year, whe staff educated over 350 students through community service days, workshops, and camps.technical assistance: the 1000 hours A year initiative supports schools and early learning centers that wish to test and remediate for lead (pb) and radon, two known, yet preventable, environmental hazards in learning environments. Staff engaged testing consultants and assisted with the analysis of testing results, as well as development of remediation plans when necessary for fifteen school districts in western pa during fiscal year 23. In addition, whe provided technical assistance to six school districts in southwestern pa related to other environmental health concerns such as cleaning product usage, indoor air quality, and pest management.training and recognition: Healthy schools pa offers training opportunities for school community members. To that end, whe held its sixth Healthy schools pa summit reaching educators and nonprofits across the country via virtual programming. Five schools and one school district were recognized on whe's Healthy school recognition program and whe's staff worked with three school districts to implement epa's school air flag program, focused on educating the school community on daily air quality readings in their neighborhoods.

Coalition building initiatives and advocacy:get the lead (pb) out, pittsburgh campaign and lead safe allegheny coalition: during early 2018, whe staff convened A group of nonprofits and academic researchers interested in focusing on lead exposure, including strategies that address primary prevention and early intervention. This led to the creation of A countywide coalition, including participation from government agencies and medicare providers to nonprofits, that have A common goal of developing strategies and resources to reduce the number of children with elevated blood lead levels. In fiscal year 23, the coalition worked within allegheny county to provide leadership and advocacy that advances strategic initiatives and fosters collaboration among the community by focusing on primary prevention and ultimately creating A lead safe Environment. The coalition advocates to ensure we maintain public vigilance until we have achieved our overall goal of protecting children by eliminating harmful exposure to lead in all sources. Whe staff presented on the coalition's work at national and regional conferences. During this fiscal year, whe supported the training of nearly 300 general contractors in the city of pittsburgh to become trained and certified in the epa's renovation, repair and painting (rrp) program. Epa requires that rrp projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, childcare facilities and preschools built before 1978 be performed by lead-safe certified contractors. A large emphasis of the campaign was consistent online communication, increasing new users to the website by 99%. The lead safe allegheny coalition hosted A life without lead summit that educated individuals about the importance of lead prevention and childhood lead screening. A screening of "hiding in the walls", chronicling the lead exposure and poisoning in baltimore, Maryland was hosted by whe. The filmmaker, angel wilson provided A keynote address opening the conference, about lead exposure. The conference boasted 150 unique viewers, 300 total viewers from across the country. Whe staff provided lead education via community workshops and participated in outreach events - in person and virtually - to raise awareness about lead prevention and connected families to local resources. Workshops were delivered to over A dozen agencies and nonprofits including family service providers, local community groups, and affordable housing landlords. Whe is the convenor of the radon in pa schools workgroup, A partnership among school personnel, healthcare providers, radon professionals and community members affected by cancer. This workgroup continues to meet to raise the public's awareness of radon exposure in the learning Environment and conduct educational meetings with government representatives and elected officials. Whe continues to be the "go-to" source for information for reliable scientific information on environmental hazards that impact public health. Its staff members were featured in over two dozen local media sources. The organization frequently receives programming requests and general inquiries from the public.