"When you fix somebody's home, you also fix their health status. In my case, I was taking 12 medications. I went down to five. I was seeing three specialists. I went down to one. And I'm living proof of the correlation between unhealthy housing and sickness, and how fixing someone's house secures their quality of health." - Luz Velez
"If people were sheltering in place, as a result of the pandemic, they then experienced the benefits of weatherization in new ways or just became more aware of the benefits that maybe therefore they had taken for granted." - Clarke Gocker
"If people were sheltering in place, as a result of the pandemic, they then experienced the benefits of weatherization in new ways or just became more aware of the benefits that maybe therefore they had taken for granted." - Clarke Gocker
People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH) in Buffalo, New York has connected over 700 households since 2009 with weatherization services through PUSH Green, a community-based energy-efficiency program. Through the Health and Climate Solutions grant, PUSH partnered with researchers at the Partnership for the Public Good and the University of Buffalo to evaluate how the PUSH Green program has impacted participant health and wellness and created equity while reducing the use of fossil fuels. The team has since conducted 40 participant interviews and four focus groups and analyzed a database of past PUSH Green projects and is in the process of summarizing the themes and findings into a final report. The team is also planning a Climate Carnival in June to further educate the Buffalo community about the connections between climate, health, and housing, and to celebrate the resilience of the community through the pandemic.
Downloadable Video Files
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