Healthy Homes Initiative
EJAM and Northsiders launch spring cleaning with Healthy Homes Parties!
By Tara Chadwick
April 2011
We know that the strength of our communities is in the relationships that we have with one another and the practical knowledge we have about what is good for ourselves, our families, and our communities. This is the foundation from which we are building. Together as a whole, members of the Northside community are energetic, vibrant, and ready to do whatever is necessary to protect the health and vitality of our future generations.
Environmental Justice Advocates of Minnesota is positioning itself as a springboard for community members to launch their own home, family or community-based environmental health initiatives, merging messages of health and economic development with practical actions we can take to protect our own families from the dangers of environmental toxins.
As we know, action often begins at home, and as a first step, many families are joining EJAM's Healthy Homes Initiative. Three cornerstones of this project include:
- Free Healthy Home Party trainings,
- Free home lead dust screening tests, and
- Sustainable building workshops.
So far, EJAM and Northside residents have hosted six healthy homes parties attended by over 80 community members and reached over 600 people with information about how to reduce exposure to toxic substances in the home. Participants responded with enthusiasm. They shared many personal stories about the effects that toxic substances have had on their families and even how the recent death of a child due to lead poisoning has affected the Northside community. One participant was eager to continue to learn and organize her family and community around environmental improvement because, as she put it, "They're always reporting on the bad stuff that happens in our community, but this is a chance for us to do something good!"
Our goal is to visit and test the homes and apartments of 50 Northside families who have children or grandchildren under the age of 6 and live in a building that was constructed before 1978 (when lead was first banned as an ingredient in residential paint). If you or someone you know is at risk for childhood lead poisoning, call today to schedule your free home visit and lead dust screening test! (Leave a message with your name, number and address at: 612-886-3754 or email our Healthy Homes Project Manager.)
Another call to action coming up soon is a community rain garden workshop and demonstration lead by youth who have been working with EJAM to reduce the toxic contaminants in our water.
You can also participate in EJAM's urban farming program: Traditional Foods, Healthy Communities. We'll be hosting urban farming workshops once per month from June - September, culminating with an urban farm produce cook-off contest scheduled for early September! Each month, everyone is invited to come and learn about how to save seeds, make & use compost, and reduce our risk of soil contamination.
Through all of these programs and activities, EJAM is encouraging everyone on the Northside and throughout Minnesota to take up the rights and responsibilities that we all have to act right now, look at our own choices and behaviors, and see what we need to do - individually and collectively - to ensure that we leave a Healthy Legacy for our future generations.