Healthy Home Helps Family Succeed

Challenge
Lekquan and her 8-year-old son DaWayne lived in a house that was moldy, poorly insulated and did not have a working furnace. Water had leaked into her kitchen floor. The carpet was full of allergens and pulling away from the floorboards. Despite Lekquan’s best efforts, rodents and roaches always found a way back into her home. DaWayne suffered from asthma—a chronic disease exacerbated by her home’s mold, pests and aging carpet. In a single year, Lekquan had rushed her son to the hospital eight times to manage severe asthma attacks and he had spent the equivalent of three full weeks in the hospital.

Solution
Having understood the link between her home and DaWayne’s asthma, Lekquan called GHHI Baltimore to apply for assistance. Just days later, GHHI conducted a comprehensive home assessment. That same month, GHHI installed a new hot water tank and furnace, added insulation, created better ventilation, removed the carpet and eliminated the pests for good. Within weeks of her initial contact to GHHI, she and her son came home to, as she puts it, “a whole new house” that was healthy, energy efficient and safe.

Impact
In the year following the intervention, Lekquan’s monthly energy bills dropped 30%. Dwayne has never been back to the emergency department or hospital for asthma, saving Medicaid an estimated $48,000 in costs. He takes pride in perfect school attendance and has made the honor roll. Lekquan no longer misses work and can focus on her job. She was promoted and now has the resources to support a 401K account and a 529 college savings account for her son.