Healthy Homes
In-home toxins such as mold, chemicals, and lead can impact our childrens’ health by causing respiratory problems, triggering asthma, or causing lead poisoning. Josiah Hill III Clinic’s healthy homes project provides education and resources for families on ways to create a healthy indoor environment for themselves and their children. We host green cleaning workshops in which we provide information on key warning words to look for when buying cleaning products, potential health impacts of chemicals, and ways to make your own inexpensive green healthy cleaners. Participants receive a green cleaning starter kit to take home.
For information about some simple steps you can do to right now in your home, please see our Create a Healthy Home page.
Community Leadership and Advocacy
JHC is unique in our involvement of volunteers and neighborhood leaders to promote home health awareness and protection. We rely on our large and diverse volunteer base to deliver culturally appropriate services to communities across the Portland Metro area. JHC provides initial and ongoing training for all involved with our organization. Training topics include health effects of toxins, environmental justice, and family centric approaches to improving the health of the home. JHC is also a leading advocate for updated housing codes that ensure healthier homes for Portland Metro area families as well as policies which promote health equity and environmental justice.
Blood Lead Testing
We provide a capillary “finger-stick test” for on-site blood analysis, with results in minutes. We refer clients to local resources for more information on identifying exposures to lead and reducing and eliminating the source of exposure. Reducing exposures to lead helps prevent lead poisoning. Josiah Hill Clinic also offers monthly testing clinics at the same time and location, community immunization clinics and private testing clinics for at least 10 children and/or pregnant or breastfeeding mothers. We work directly with parent groups, prenatal education classes, wellness centers, childcare centers and other groups. If you would like to schedule a blood lead testing clinic for your group, contact our Program Manager, Kimie Ueoka, by phone at (503) 802-7389 or email at kimie@jhillclinic.org.
Lead, mold, emissions, chemicals and pesticides harm all of us. Every member of our community deserves access to information and testing regardless of income, skin color or address. View our calendar for the next lead testing clinic near you, or call the number above to schedule an individual appointment.
Health Promoter and Provider Education
JHC trains community health workers, promotoras, and providers on the health effects of lead, procedures for the identification and follow-up of elevated blood lead levels, as well as local resources which are available to prevent lead poisoning. Our aim is to reach out to a diverse network of parish nurses and health promoters so they can increase their knowledge about lead and lead hazards and feel empowered to share the information with their networks’ thereby helping Portland families prevent lead poisoning.
Visit our Resources page for access to Josiah Hill Clinic training materials.