Community Health
A healthy community starts with healthy individuals. People’s CORE endeavors to correct health disparities and raise the quality of people’s well-being through our public health advocacy and education efforts. We promote awareness among individuals and facilitate their civic engagement around health issues that directly impact community members’ lives, the health conditions where they live and work, and ways of improving their health.
Smoke-Free Apartments Project
Although 85% of California’s adults do not smoke, only a small fraction of rental units are smoke-free. This places multi-unit housing residents at greater risk for secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure. SHS is a toxic air contaminant with no safe level of exposure, causes tens of thousands of deaths each year, and is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States. The right to breathe clean air in one’s own home is a basic health protection that everyone deserves. People’s CORE works with multi-unit housing property owners and tenants in Central Los Angeles to implement voluntary policies that reduce SHS exposure.
Healthy Lungs @ Home: Cerritos-Artesia
Healthy Lungs @ Home: Cerritos-Artesia (HLH: Cerritos-Artesia) is comprised of organizations and community residents in Cerritos and Artesia who desire better protections against secondhand smoke (SHS) in their homes. Cerritos and Artesia residents of apartments and condominiums who suffer from SHS exposure currently have few, if any, options to protect themselves from it. Often, they cannot afford or do not want to move away to escape SHS. Because of this, HLH: Cerritos-Artesia was formed to educate community members about SHS in their neighborhoods and foster an in-depth discussion about how it can be better addressed. For more information, please visit www.center4tobaccopolicy.org/HLHcerritos
Community Action to Strengthen Advocacy for Healthy Housing
The Community Action to Strengthen Advocacy for Healthy Housing (CASAHH) project has conducted outreach efforts throughout Central Los Angeles by raising awareness about the health risks of pest infestation, chemical pesticides, and other environmental hazards that all too often indicate substandard housing conditions. CASAHH has partnered with affected property managers and residents to identify health hazards in the home and implement safe, eco-friendly integrated pest management (IPM) practices. Through CASAHH’s capacity building efforts, managers and residents have been empowered to promote healthy living conditions and advocate for health code compliance in urban housing units.