Habitat for Humanity of Orange County hosted a housing and health panel Wednesday to discuss the safety and health risks posed in some United States homes.
Habitat said, 45 percent of U.S. homes exhibit a health or safety risk, such as mold, broken stairs or windows and exposure to lead and other toxic chemicals.
This discussion was the first of a panel series, called Home is the Key, which is being hosted in celebration of its 35th anniversary. The series will continue through October and November with two more panel discussions.
“I would say it affects almost all of the patients that I see in one way or another,” said Dr. Ceila Loughlin, medical director of the N.C. Children’s Allergy & Asthma Center. “Mold is a big one, but then cockroaches and rodents can also affect children with asthma.”
Krishnaveni Balakrishnan, coordinator for the Orange County Health Department's Healthy Homes initiative, is a certified inspector who conducts house visits. Balakrishnan said during these inspections, she searches for potential health hazards, such as mold, improper drainage, pests and vermin as well as wet spots on the ceiling.
“Usually there’s the telltale sign,” Balakrishnan said. “Usually what I ask the family as well is, ‘Are you having any issues breathing? Have you been to the hospital lately or have anything related to asthma?’”
Balakrishnan said a common issue she finds is that landlords don’t take care of the property or handle hazardous situations properly.
“One of the homes that I actually looked at last year was a family of five that had just moved to Greensboro, and the home was beautiful, but the landlord had not been keeping up the property,” Balakrishnan said. “When they moved, they didn’t know that he had painted over all of the mold that was in the house.”
Two weeks after the family moved into the house, the walls began to turn dark green, causing them to have allergies and breathing problems.
