Improving Indoor Air Quality—Community Spotlight

Alexandria Healthy Homes Network

For the city of Alexandria, Virginia, located just outside of Washington, DC, home conditions matter. In 2021, Alexandrians identified housing as a priority in the city’s Community Health Improvement Plan. Within that priority, residents decided a healthy homes effort is a key strategy. As residents routinely dealt with hazards like mold, smoke, pests, and overcrowding, the work would be a challenge.

In response, Alexandria formed the Healthy Homes Network, a multidisciplinary coalition dedicated to improving local home conditions. The Network’s major task is to implement a Healthy Homes Action Plan with specific steps and measurable outcomes. Over the past several years, the group has succeeded in advancing a series of healthy homes projects.

What has been a win/top accomplishment that makes you proud?
ALX Breathes, a program facilitated by Alexandria Health Department, has been transformative for many families in our city. This initiative, based on existing research, educates residents and provides service navigation to remediate issues like pests, smoking, and mold. A pilot program—designed with the support of NCHH—served 20 families, and the lessons learned led to a revamped, permanent ALX Breathes home-based program that has supported more than 35 households since launching in June 2023.

The proudest moments are when residents accomplish their goals, whether that is breathing better at night, getting support on home maintenance, or feeling empowered to advocate for themselves at the doctor’s office.

What is the most important thing people should know about your organization or your work?
Partnerships are at the core of the Alexandria Healthy Homes Network. There are no dedicated staff members coordinating work, so each network participant carves out time to advance projects. The coalition itself is led by the Alexandria Health Department (AHD) and Rebuilding Together, a local nonprofit, who handle much of the administrative burden. Beyond that, community organizations, advocacy groups, city agencies, and even property managers are involved. Partnerships help bring down siloes for other projects and ultimately strengthen the work by bringing a holistic perspective.

What do you value most about your partnership with NCHH and others in the healthy housing space?
After residents identified housing as a top priority in the Community Health Improvement Plan, AHD worked with the National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) to develop a local data and policy asset and gap analysis. This report highlighted a gap in coordination between Alexandria’s many home health service providers. With technical assistance from NCHH and Regional Asthma Management and Prevention (RAMP), AHD brought together these providers in a healthy homes kickoff meeting. That meeting would be the foundation of the Healthy Homes Network and Healthy Homes Action Plan. Throughout the development of the plan and implementation of the work, regular consultations with NCHH and RAMP have provided Alexandria with the wisdom gained from decades of healthy homes work across the country. Plus, who else can you geek out with about healthy homes metrics?

What is the most important lesson or piece of advice you would share with others doing this kind of work?
Our biggest piece of advice is to innovate within limits. For the Healthy Homes Network, limited funding affects everything we do, so it’s essential to get creative with what we have.

For instance, without financial or staff resources to build a new public resource database, the network evaluated existing databases and chose to use FindHelp.org, an online service navigation tool. FindHelp met digital and language needs and reduced staff burden. However, several Alexandria providers did not have profiles, and others had profiles with incorrect information. So, the group worked with a FindHelp representative to educate service providers on how to build strong, updated profiles. Now, the workgroup is helping over 30 providers to update their profiles, use FindHelp web data, and promote the tool among clients.

Without question, our program will need to find more sustainable and diverse funding sources, but this type of innovation has empowered us to start tackling challenges that can’t be put off any longer.

To learn more about the Alexandria Healthy Homes Network, visit https://www.alexandriava.gov/health-department/a-healthy-alexandria-starts-at-home or contact healthmatters@vdh.virginia.gov.

 

Latest page update: August 21, 2024.