Health and Home Repairs
Prioritizing homeowner health through home repairs
Health starts in the home. Poor home conditions—such as lead and mold exposure, water leakage and bad air quality—are directly tied to residents’ poor health outcomes.
Habitat Philadelphia has placed renewed emphasis on improving health through housing as we expand our home repair program in extent and scope. In fiscal year 2025, our team completed a record 150 home repairs, bringing the all-time total to more than 1,100. Now, we’re introducing health assessments for every repair we perform to better understand the holistic impact of home repairs for homeowners.
We’ve hired our first community health worker, Roshida Austin, to join the team as a home repair Build Project Manager this year. Since her arrival, we’ve implemented a new Home Repair & Health Survey that Roshida conducts over the phone before project managers’ in-person home assessment as well as three months after repair completion.
While collecting information on home conditions to prepare project managers for their visits, Roshida also asks about mental and physical health issues homeowners may be experiencing due to their living conditions.
“We look at the family that we’re serving from a holistic point of view: how do we support this family in living in a healthy home in addition to a healthy lifestyle,” Austin said. “That’s where community health work and project management come together.”
Meet Roshida, our community health worker
How housing affects health
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has classified housing as a social determinant of health—a factor of daily life that impacts health outcomes. In Philadelphia, an estimated 121,0001 homes are deemed inadequate, as residents encounter hazards like pest infestations, exposed wiring and insufficient heating during the winter.
Philadelphia’s aging housing stock—65% of units were built prior to 1960—furthers the health risks encountered in the home, with many homeowners facing critical repair needs they are unable to afford. Such needs, like sealing water leaks resulting from structural issues, often lead to consequent issues like mold that compound to make repairs more costly and inaccessible.
Addressing health through home repairs
We’ve long understood that a decent home is a healthy one. In the past, Habitat Philadelphia took part in the Home Preservation Initiative (HPI), a program that measured health outcomes through home repairs. Data collected by the Drexel University Urban Health Collaborative determined that homeowners’ physical and mental health outcomes improved after receiving cost-effective critical repairs.
Additionally, we played a role in HPI’s BUILD Health Challenge, collaborating with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to improve pediatric asthma outcomes. In West Philadelphia, it is estimated that 1 in every 4 children experiences asthma, a statistic largely attributed to housing conditions; an estimated 39% of children’s asthma diagnoses result from triggers in the home such as mold, pests and dust.
Habitat Philadelphia is also an Aging in Place affiliate; the average critical repair recipient is 72 years of age, and repairs are often focused on improving accessibility. Tailored to meet each recipient’s individual needs, modifications such as ramps, rails and raised toilets ensure that older Philadelphians can safely and healthily remain in their homes as they age.
In 2019, Habitat launched the CAPABLE program, an extension of Aging in Place catered to older individuals unable to complete daily domestic activities. Partnering with nurses and occupational therapists from Drexel University’s College of Nursing and Health Professions and Thomas Jefferson University’s College of Rehabilitation Sciences, the program further strengthened the health of aging community members receiving home repair services.
A healthy community thrives better
Based on the success of previous programs, we’ve brought homeowner health back into focus by investing in community health experts like Roshida. We will use the feedback gathered from the homeowner surveys to better understand the needs of the community and the impact of home repairs on their health and safety.
Recently, Roshida conducted four home assessments in the Gray’s Ferry neighborhood alongside a local contractor. During these visits, she pointed out common home conditions she looks for during assessments, such as soft or weak flooring, falling ceilings, pipe corrosion and unstable stairs.
She listened as one homeowner told her about water damage persisting in the home despite a previous roof repair. Along with the contractor, Roshida photographed and assessed parts of the home. She also asked each homeowner for their personal repair priority. Information gathering and personal communication are the building blocks of the program and create health outcomes that benefit the entire neighborhood.
“A healthy community thrives better. They work together. They live longer,” Austin said.
together, home is possible
Mark your calendars — Monday, October 6 is Habitat Philadelphia’s 4th Annual Day of Giving, and this year, the need is more urgent than ever.
Rising repair costs and federal funding cuts mean too many families are left with unsafe stairs, failing roofs and homes that can’t weather the future.
On October 6, you can help bridge the critical gap in our Home Repairs program — funding work that goes beyond the bare minimum to keep families safe, stable and secure for years to come.