Suggestions for Programs with Limited Resources

Erica,

The programs use a combination of self-report and observation (visual assessment) to ascertain conditions in the home.  We don't use dust sampling for cockroaches or any allergens, but will look for evidence such as droppings, traps, nymphs or even for conditions that can promote pests (harborage, food, water).

One way of starting out with limited resources is to find another program or partner in your community who is already going into the home and identify a few key areas that you can address with low-cost methods.  Our program is very low-intensity in approach, but delivers a big impact.

Also, use examples like ours and others around the country to point to the impacts that these types of programs are having.  Even if you can't support the kind of evaluation or scale that we do, certainly our experiences can still be part of your evidence, part of your story.  For example, we don't do dust sampling because it is too expensive and prohibitive in other ways, but we rely on a wealth of evidence about what others do find when they do dust sampling to help justify our approach.

We also target our resources to the communities where there is the highest demonstrated need and to the neighborhoods within these communities where residents have the highest risk for housing-related illness, but where there are also willing partners to help ensure the impact of the program.

Finally, our local programs are masters at using what they bring to the table (e.g., the fact that they are getting into so many homes) to help them secure donations of supplies from others in the community.