Healthy Homes

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The Healthy Homes Project worked in conjunction with the Waltham Alliance to Create Housing, or WATCH, cdc., to make information about economically and environmentally sustainable homes more accessible to all Waltham residents. The main goal of this project was to spread awareness about hazards and toxins that are commonly found in the home, and to demonstrate how members of the Waltham community can avoid these dangers and simultaneously save money.

In order to promote the importance of a healthy living space, the team members created a simple  educational resource guide  about toxins in the home  -- a “Healthy Homes” booklet. The booklet features information about hazardous household products, lead in the home, safe recycling practices, indoor air quality, and the services that Waltham residents can use to improve their own home environments, and includes other information such as weatherization assistance information. The last page focuses on the many housing-related services that WATCH and other agencies in Waltham offer to the Waltham community.

The team brought its message into a classroom setting, as well. The project members, along with members of the Greening the Ivory Tower class, ran trainings and workshops with the adult students in the Breaking Barriers classes at WATCH. These classes aims to help integrate immigrants into the Waltham community through English-language learning and other training. Together with other members of the Greening the Ivory Tower class, the team taught Breaking Barriers students how to make safe and nontoxic cleaning kits from ingredients such as simple, inexpensive ingredients such as vinegar and baking soda.  The  team’s goal was to create a positive, fun and optimistic project. While  the team educated Waltham residents about dangerous pollution in the home, the emphasized that there are safe and healthy alternatives to almost all of these hazards.

Please click here to view the  Healthy Homes booklet.

Project team: Becca Carden, Liza Ansher, and Coriander Burns, with assistance from Madelyn Stix,