Our Vision
Addressing the Social Determinants of Health and Racial Equity through Healthy Housing.
Our Model
The Green & Healthy Homes Initiative effectively integrates funding from private and public sources to deliver results for low income residents.
GHHI Delivers
- Government innovation in service delivery and cost savings
- Measurable improvements in health, economic and social outcomes for children and families
- Development of community-based green jobs and social enterprise
- Healthy, safe, stable and affordable homes
- Increased family economic security including wealth retention and reduced family displacement
Our Impact
The impact of GHHI’s work is felt nationwide in a variety of ways.
Improved Health and Safety
- GHHI interventions dramatically reduce the incidence of asthma episodes including asthma related hospitalizations, emergency room visits and doctor visits;
- GHHI interventions reduce elevated blood lead levels, falls and other household injuries.
Energy Efficiency
In an analysis to date in Baltimore, GHHI interventions have resulted in an average of $306 in energy costs savings for clients in the first 12 months post intervention.
Increased Access to Resources
- The cost savings for the integrated (versus separate) housing interventions have saved 20-25 percent, thereby creating a process that can effectively address health, safety and energy efficiency improvements in every fifth (5th) house for free;
- Cost savings are being achieved from an integrated approach that reduces travel time, site preparation, duplication of efforts, and other inefficiencies that drive up costs when multiple contractors are used to perform multiple interventions in a single home;
- Through a coordinated intake process, comprehensive assessment and integrated interventions, families have access to a full complement of coordinated financial and programmatic resources needed to make improvements for improved health, safety, and energy usage in the home.
Workforce Development
- Creating jobs and training the next generation of “green” workers is a fundamental focus of GHHI. With a grant from the Open Society Foundations’ Poverty Alleviation Fund, GHHI initially provided subgrants to nine GHHI sites to provide training programs and job placement services for under-employed and unemployed workers and formerly incarcerated individuals.
- Open Society Foundation Workforce Development Grantees:
- Atlanta
- Buffalo
- Chicago
- Cleveland
- Detroit
- Flint
- Oakland
- Philadelphia
- Providence
- To date, over 1,800 persons have been trained in green and healthy assessment and intervention, enabling them to hold sustainable jobs with healthcare benefits.
- Findings across sites note that wages of under-employed individuals engaged in GHHI training have seen wage increases from $9 to $15 to $22 per hour (with the addition for most of benefits). Additional skills prepare workers to be able to compete in the emerging green housing rehabilitation market.
- Worker skills developed through GHHI include among others:
- Energy Auditor (BPI), Building Analyst (BPI), and Weatherization Crew Chief/Installer;
- Lead Hazard Control Supervisor/Worker;
- Healthy Homes Environmental Assessment Technician/Hazard Reduction Worker;
- Comprehensive Housing Assessment;
- Housing Code compliance and housing rehabilitation;
- Skills development (math, scope writing, data entry, customer relations and worker personal safety protection)
Our Partners
