In the U.S. today, people spend close to 90% of their time indoors. National Healthy Homes Month (NHHM), created by HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes (OLHCHH), is an outreach campaign designed to help people understand the relationship between their health and their home.  This year’s A Healthy Home @Any Age and encourages residents to take actions necessary to make their homes safe and healthy. The goal of this year's focus is "to increase awareness of housing-related health hazards, lead poisoning prevention, and the overall principles of a healthy home, especially for low-income populations” and to “encourage residents to take the actions and steps for safe and healthy homes.”

Healthy homes are important for people of all ages. Currently, millions of U.S. homes have moderate to severe physical housing problems, including dilapidated structure; roofing problems; heating, plumbing, and electrical deficiencies; water leaks and intrusion; pests; damaged paint; and high radon gas levels. These conditions are associated with a wide range of health issues, including unintentional injuries, respiratory illnesses like asthma and radon-induced lung cancer, and lead poisoning.  The health and economic burdens from preventable hazards associated within home are considerable, and cost billions of dollars.

National Healthy Homes Month (NHHM) was established to focus national attention on ways to keep people of all ages safe and healthy in their home. It is aimed at boosting awareness and understanding of what federal and local resources are available. The events planned throughout the month will serve as a public communications campaign to promote awareness and advocacy, encourage local events, and provide resources and support to drive families to take action.

For more information on National Healthy Homes Month, please visit the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development website,  or the NC State Extension's Healthy Homes website.

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