Greater Syracuse became the latest GHHI designated site to join the GHHI network. Mayor of Syracuse Stephanie Miner signed the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative Compact for the Greater Syracuse area. The Compact actively engages local and state government, housing, foundation and other partners that are conducting work related to green and healthy homes interventions. Read more about GHHI Greater Syracuse.
Congratulations to all of the GHHI site locations that won Lead Based Paint Hazard Control or Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development this summer! GHHI locations include Jackson, MS ($1.2 million); Allegheny County, PA ($3.4 million); Lansing, MI ($2.3 million); Rhode Island ($3.4 million); and Maine ($3.4 million). The funding will be used to remove lead paint hazards in affected homes and help protect children from lead poisoning.
GHHI President and CEO Ruth Ann Norton shared the stage with HUD Secretary Julián Castro and other experts on a panel last month to address lead exposure in low-income communities. Hosted by the Center for American Progress, the panel discussed best practices for creating lead-free homes and provided insights on how leaders across sectors can work together to ensure that every child lives in an environment conducive to their success.
GHHI delivered a paper on theNon-Energy Benefits, the Clean Energy Plan, and Energy Policy for Multi-family Housing at the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy’s 2016 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings. The paper described the non-energy benefits related to energy efficiency and weatherization retrofits that occured at the individual, sectoral and societal level, with particular emphasis on multifamily housing.
GHHI is conducting site visits to the 12 states the Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA) network is partnering with, and working with the Natural Resources Defense Council and state/local partners to ensure that the affordable multifamily housing sector receives its fair share of energy efficiency funding from utilities. Currently, the share of utility and other energy efficiency program funds spent on the multifamily sector falls well below the multifamily share of the housing market in areas across the country. GHHI is helping EEFA sites make the case for the health benefits from energy efficiency retrofits. GHHI is also developing case studies that demonstrate this benefit and the health, social and economic outcomes of comprehensive energy efficiency upgrades.
