National Center for Healthy Housing

No family should have to choose between affordable and healthy housing. "Healthy homes" is a century-old concept that promotes safe, decent, and sanitary housing as a means for preventing disease and injury. Healthy housing is receiving considerable attention from public health professionals and policy-makers as a result of the wealth of scientific evidence linking health outcomes — such as asthma, lead poisoning, and unintentional injuries — to home health hazards.

NCHH leads several initiatives:

• To change national, state, and local policies to improve housing quality and health outcomes.
• To increase funding for critical healthy housing programs at HUD, CDC, EPA, and more.
• To eliminate lead poisoning in the United States.
• To engage communities nationwide to take action on healthy housing.

Please join our efforts and take action for healthy housing today.

Through its advocacy campaigns and policy initiatives, the National Center for Healthy Housing provides information about federal, state, and local policy on healthy housing, illuminates the inadequacies of current policy, influences policy changes, and engages individuals nationwide working to secure healthy housing for all.

Current initiatives in which you can participate include:

• Find It, Fix It, Fund It: A Lead Elimination Action Drive 
• Federal Funding for Healthy Housing
• 1,000 Communities: Take Action Locally

The National Safe and Healthy Housing Coalition is a broad, voluntary coalition of over 300 organizations working to improve housing conditions nationwide through education and outreach to key national stakeholders and federal public decision-makers. The Coalition promotes policies for safe and healthy housing in the United States with special emphasis on those who are disproportionately impacted.

• Join Us
• Meetings and Events
• News

The Health and Housing Funders’ Forum fosters collaboration among philanthropic organizations to make a significant impact in the areas of healthy housing and healthy communities and seeks to re-envision housing so that it leads to better health for vulnerable populations. The Funders’ Forum is a non-dues-paying collaborative that provides its members with a range of opportunities, tools, and resources, such as webinars, peer networking, and conferences.

• Recent Meetings

Stay current on updates from members of the NCHH policy team and allies about recent developments in healthy housing policy and how you can take action. Click the link below to see updates from members of the NCHH policy team and allies on recent events.

• Blog Posts

Changing health and housing policy requires coordinated efforts between communities and across all levels of government. In support of these efforts, NCHH is a valuable resource provider for those working to increase healthy housing. NCHH offers a wide variety of data on the current state of healthy housing nationwide, information on federal and state legislation currently in place, details regarding proposed legislation and policy changes, and specific advocacy actions you can take to promote healthy housing.

• State Fact Sheets
• National Healthy Housing Standard
• 2013 State of Healthy Housing
• Additional Policy Resources

Take action TODAY to double federal Lead Poisoning Prevention Funding!

The National Center for Healthy Housing and the steering committee of the National Safe and Healthy Housing Coalition are thrilled to announce the release of Find it, Fix It, Fund It, a bold new action drive to eliminate lead poisoning.

Please join the drive.

• Click here to sign up to participate in the drive and (optionally) add your organization’s logo to it. 
• Click here to see the declaration supporting the Find It, Fix It, Fund It principles signed by the over 300 attendees at the Lead and Healthy Housing Conference on May 5, 2016.
• We’d love your feedback on the drive. Email Sarah Goodwin to provide feedback!

As the lead-in-water crisis in Flint, Michigan, continues to evolve, NCHH joins the nation in supporting the residents of Flint in their time of need. Resources must be marshalled as quickly as possible to ensure a safe water supply and provide follow-up services to address the long-term consequences of lead poisoning. We need to take the lessons from this crisis to improve our public policies so that no other communities have to experience what the residents of Flint are going through.

No family should have to choose between affordable and healthy housing. "Healthy Homes" is a century-old concept that promotes safe, decent, and sanitary housing as a means for preventing disease and injury.

Healthy housing is receiving considerable attention from public health professionals and policy-makers as a result of emerging scientific evidence linking health outcomes such as asthma, lead poisoning, and unintentional injuries to substandard housing.

There are more than 5.2 million substandard housing units nationwide. As a result, there is a growing need for preventing the public health problems stemming from these units. Even newer, more expensive homes may have hazards lurking within. Creating healthier housing promotes the healthy growth and development of children and has the potential to save billions in health care costs.

Click here for a list of actions that you can take today to help secure healthy homes for all!




Participate today in the "Five Things You Can Do" grassroots campaign:
Follow these five steps to raise awareness for substandard housing issues, urge Congress to support healthy housing programs, and exchange ideas or strategies with our Coalition members.

FY17 House and Senate sign-on letters for increased funding for lead poisoning prevention
Seventy-five Representatives signed on to representatives Slaughter and Cicilline’s letter to increase funding for lead poisoning prevention. Click here to see their letter and find out if your representative signed on this year.

On the Senate side, 24 Senators signed on to Senator Reed’s and/or Senator Shaheen’s letters to increase funding for lead poisoning prevention. Click here to see Senator Reed’s letter and/or click here for Senator Shaheen’s letter and find out if your senators signed on this year.

Former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, families impacted by unhealthy housing, and NCHH joined with Congresswoman Louise Slaughter to present at House and Senate Briefings
Former Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders, Mrs. Erma Taylor, Kelleigh Eastman, and Amanda Reddy, NCHH Director of Programs and Impact, presented at House and Senate briefings on July 22, 2015, entitled “Health and Educational Disparities for Communities of Color: The Secret Culprit.”

Congresswoman Slaughter spoke passionately of the urgent need to address housing as a determinant of health. Kelleigh described how she was lead poisoned as a child and Mrs. Taylor described the impact of home health hazards on her grandchildren’s and great-grandchildren’s asthma. Dr. Elders spoke of the fight to end lead poisoning through prevention, and Amanda Reddy spoke about combating asthma through home services.



Representatives Louise Slaughter, Mike Honda, Raúl Grijalva, and Senator Cory Booker (above) co-hosted the briefings attended by over 40 congressional staff and visitors.

NCHH Director of Policy Julie Kruse, Mrs. Erma Taylor, Ms. Kelleigh Eastman, Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders, and NCHH Director of Programs and Impact Amanda Reddy at the Capitol.

What’s the Status of Federal Funding for Healthy Homes?  See current Congressional proposals for funding for critical CDC and HUD programs, and what you can do to support funding.


State-Specific Healthy Housing Fact Sheets.  These fact sheets contain a wealth of healthy housing related information and statistics useful to advocates nationwide.


State and Local Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Programs: The Impact of Federal Public Health Funding Cuts. This report shows the devastating impact of funding cuts and the need to restore full funding.


National Healthy Housing Standard. The National Healthy Housing Standard is a vital tool for improving your local housing code!  The Standard provides new, science-based minimum performance standards for a safe and healthy home. It bridges the health and building code communities by putting modern public health information into housing code parlance.


Issue Brief: Childhood Lead Exposure and Educational Outcomes.  This issue brief provides critical arguments for the need to finish the fight against lead poisoning. A shorter version of this brief is also available: At a Glance: Childhood Lead Exposure and Educational Outcomes


Preventing Lead Exposure in US Children: A Blueprint for Action. This report describes the actions that government, advocates, and the private sector must take to protect children from a disease that affects over a half-million children.


2013 State of Healthy Housing. A Comparison of the health of housing in 45 metropolitan areas across the U.S.  How does your city rank?