HLTH 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Fuel Poverty, Housing First, Lead Paint
6 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
HLTH 101 – Lecture 8
Housing
Homes and Health
• Overcrowding a health issue
• Low-income housing often does not meet safety standards (smoke detectors, hand
railings, etc.)
• Inadequate food storage and refuse disposal create insect and animal vectors for
disease, such as cockroaches and rodents
• Environmental hazards in older houses such as lead paint and asbestos fibre
▪ Lead-based paints were used up until 1970s
• Inadequate regulation of heating and cooling can literally kill people, as appens oth
in hot spells and cold snaps to the homebound disabled (205)
• Fl y – the inability of poor people to pay for adequate electricity, gas, or
oil fuel to heat their homes
o Cold housing is associated w/ stress and mental illness, especially among
children
o The relationship between ill health and homeless is complicated by the fact
that people who are not well, esp those with substance abuse or mental
health issues, are most at risk of becoming homeless (206)
It is wrong to think that people are homeless because of pre-existing mental illness or
substance abuse
o Homeless are subject to violence
▪ 40% report being assaulted; 25% of women report being raped
o Stress of living on the streets contributes to high rates of smoking and
alcohol and drug abuse
o A significant factor driving up rates of homelessness is the housing boom – rapidly
rising housing prices and associated increases in rent
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