About the Coalition:
Founded in 1999, the San Diego Regional Asthma Coalition is composed of over fifty diverse agencies from the County of San Diego. Members include local health and social service agencies, health care providers, health plans, school districts, community-based organizations, and local businesses. The mission of the coalition is to provide leadership in identifying, developing, mobilizing and coordinating resources to prevent asthma and positively impact the lives of people affected by asthma in San Diego County. In accordance with its mission, the Coalition is currently mobilizing its resources to advocate for asthma-friendly policies in the areas of housing and air quality.
Current Activities in Housing:
The San Diego Regional Asthma Coalition has partnered with the Mid-City Community Action Network to create a task force to advocate for higher standards in the inspection of rental and Section 8 Housing units in San Diego. This task force has been named the Housing Momentum Team, and currently includes representatives from over 10 community organizations, faith-based groups, and asthma programs. Thanks to members with extensive asthma home visiting experience, the Housing Momentum Team has been able to document unhealthy housing conditions in many of the rented homes and apartments of families with school-aged children with asthma. The group has also identified the common problem of tenants being fearful of landlord retaliation if they file complaints. This fear has created a virtual loophole for landlords and apartment owners. An inadequate number of complaints results in many rental units going years without an inspection. Previous efforts by the Asthma Coalition to ensure that housing inspection checklists adequately address asthma triggers will not have an optimal impact unless they are implemented on a regular basis. The Housing Momentum Team has thus set a new goal. The group is mobilizing to advocate for a city ordinance to make housing inspections mandatory for all rental units on an annual basis.
Current Activities in Air Quality:
On May 25th, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) convened in San Diego to discuss a proposal to toughen emission controls standards for off-road vehicles used by construction companies, airports, and other industries. The Asthma Coalition helped to support this proposal by organizing a letter-writing campaign and by sending an effective line-up of speakers to the hearing. Michael Kelly, M.D., who serves as the Asthma Coalition’s Clinical Co-Chair was joined by Alex Greiner, M.D. of Allergy and Asthma Medical Group in testifying to the hazards posed by off-road emissions to people with asthma. Another Asthma Coalition member, David A. Kopec, Ph.D., an environmental psychologist further testified to the hazards posed by diesel emissions particles. Off-road emissions have been of great concern in San Diego. As the county undergoes extensive development and redevelopment, construction vehicles are a very common sight. Of course, CARB’s proposal is statewide and so would benefit air quality throughout California. The final vote is currently scheduled to take place on July 26, 2007 at CARB’s regular meeting in Sacramento. More specific information on the proposed regulations can be accessed via the following link: http://www.arb.ca.gov/regact/2007/ordiesl07/ordiesl07.htm
These are just a few examples of the activities that the San Diego Regional Asthma Coalition is currently conducting. For more information, please visit the coalition’s website: http://www.AsthmaSanDiego.org. |
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