The Essentials for Healthy Homes Practitioners course brings together a diverse mix of housing and health professionals to promote practical and cost-effective methods for making homes healthier. A major strength of the course is the peer-to-peer learning that occurs between students. Through exercises, demonstrations and discussions, students better understand the roles, perceptions and challenges that their counterparts face. And they identify ways to coordinate their work to better protect residents from environmental and safety hazards in the home.
Weatherization professionals work with low income residents to reduce their energy losses. Their work reaches people in need and provides a valuable service. Often the problems they resolve also reduce moisture problems, pest problems and contaminants such as lead dust. If remediation is not done properly, it could also create potential environmental hazards.
Weatherization professionals will benefit from the course because it will help them:
- Identify connections between the structural problems they find and potential health impacts to better convince clients of the need to address shortcomings;
- Avoid creating environmental hazards;
- Develop networks among the public health and housing community to strengthen the quality of services; and
- Gain insight into the perspectives of nurses, code inspectors, environmental health specialists, community-based organizations, and pest management professionals that help all be more effective.