Op-ed: Affordable Homes Act the first bold step in addressing daunting housing crisis

Published by Lowell Sun
By State Representative James Arciero
December 24, 2024

The holiday season is a special time for citizens of the commonwealth — winter markets with the family, children coming home from school, loved ones come together to relax, celebrate and reflect on the days behind us and the year ahead.

A safe, clean home is vital to making sure our loved ones have a place to gather and be together this winter.

And with the passage of the Affordable Homes Act in August, the Massachusetts Legislature took the first bold step in addressing not only the daunting housing crisis affecting our region — and collectively the U.S. in terms of homeownership accessibility and affordability — but also addressing safe, secure housing so all people can live with dignity.

One of the most critical components of this historical $5.16 billion bill deals with creating safe and secure housing for our families that I am proud to work on and advocate for: the Healthy Homes Program.

The Healthy Homes provision creates a program within the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) to make reasonable efforts to coordinate with other governmental, quasi-governmental and nonprofit organizations administering programs that create healthier environments for residents, including, but not limited to, rehabilitating existing housing or making homes safe from lead, asbestos and mold.

The bill was introduced during the 193rd legislative session by Reps. Shirley Arriaga and Manny Cruz, and Sen. John Keenan to help their communities and residents tackle this important issue by aiding homeowners in desperate need to rehabilitate the commonwealth’s aged housing stock.

Many people don’t know that Massachusetts has the second oldest housing stock in the nation, and more than 70% of homes were constructed before lead paint was banned in 1978.

These problems are particularly severe in the commonwealth’s Gateway Cities, which predominate among cities categorized as being “high risk communities” for childhood lead poisoning, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and whose residents suffer disproportionately from asthma-related hospitalizations (six communities having two to three times the statewide rate) according to reports and research provided to the Joint Committee on Housing.

The bill received strong supportive testimony from Boston Children’s Hospital, Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals, Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts, Revitalize Community Development Corporation and the Community Development Partnership.

Multiple reports and studies show a stable and safe home is critical for the health of children and their families. When children are exposed to various carcinogens and toxins within their home environment, it negatively affects their health and can impede their development throughout their lifetime.

Research done by Boston Children’s Hospital and the Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals shows that young children are more seriously impacted by health hazards within the home, by factors not commonly considered such as higher metabolic rates, greater consumption of air per unit body weight compared to adults, and lungs that have not fully developed. Additionally, behavioral characteristics such as crawling and frequent breathing through the mouth make infants and toddlers more susceptible to indoor pollutants.

Greater intake of indoor pollutants places young children and infants at an increased risk for respiratory illness (such as asthma), sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and chronic disease and allergies later in life. Indoor concentrations of multiple pollutants are elevated in low-income households, which contributes to the persistence of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic health disparities we see in today’s society.

And with this research and personal testimony in mind, it became vital for the policy to be secured within the Affordable Homes Act.

The policy establishes the framework for a tiered program that provides grants and loans for households — from low-income to moderate-income to small and large landlords alike — to receive up to $50,000 per unit to help repair our aged housing stock which could negatively affect the health of our children.

I’m incredibly proud to have helped champion this important policy alongside my colleagues to help create safer, healthier homes for our children and future generations, as I look forward to this program receiving the proper funding it needs to be a success.

Every family deserves a healthy home to make sure they can enjoy these precious holiday moments — safe from health and housing concerns.

Not only at this special time of year, but during the entire year when their house or apartment is called home.