Partnership eyes better improvements for low-income homes
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Allegheny County and Pittsburgh officials signed a compact Friday that offers to help undercut lead contamination, asthma incidents, excessive energy use and other problems in lower-income households.
The move, which involves several nonprofit service providers, makes Pittsburgh the 19th city to partner with the Baltimore-based Green and Healthy Homes Initiative, or GHHI. Organizers said the idea is largely to tighten collaboration among nonprofit and government groups that strengthen housing in poorer communities.
GHHI provides a model for more coordinated work, local leaders said. Mayor Bill Peduto said the development builds on longtime efforts to tackle blight and redevelop run-down residences.
“But in many of the cases [before], we kept the dangers that were within that home encapsulated” inside, Mr. Peduto said. “And we never created a system that really created a more energy-efficient home that would reduce the costs.”
Now, he said, nonprofit groups have specific, shared criteria to bolster energy efficiency and reduce contaminants, such as lead paint, when they improve homes in “marginalized communities.” Contaminants can include dust mites, dander, tobacco smoke and cleaning chemicals, all of which contribute to asthma incidents, according to GHHI.
“Housing condition is probably one of the greatest challenges in America,” said Ruth Ann Norton, the GHHI president and CEO. At a South Side press event, she said better home conditions can help reduce turnover rates in low-income rentals, providing families more stability and more robust health.
Ms. Norton said the GHHI model makes home improvement work more efficient by better aligning local resources. In Cleveland, according to GHHI, asthma-related client hospitalizations fell 56 percent after the city adopted the nonprofit’s approach.
Participating cities also have a better crack at federal and philanthropic money, Ms. Norton said. The lead nonprofit partners in Pittsburgh are CCI, formerly Conservation Consultants, which centers on energy and resource use, and Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh, which focuses on rehabilitation projects.
“We have been able to basically triple, in our cities, the amount of money being spent on these issues by having the collaborative,” Ms. Norton said.