Sarah Chung
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Research Mentor(s): Maggie Striz, Director of Healthy Air
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision,
Presentation Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021
Session: Session 1 (10am-10:50am)
Breakout Room: Room 6
Presenter: 5
Abstract
In 2019, a resident of southwest Detroit called SDEV to ask for help with air pollution that was getting into her house. The problem was so bad that she had to change furnace filters monthly, which were completely caked with black soot. SDEV visited the resident’s home to learn more and received a furnace filter from the resident. My project involved launching a survey of residents to see how many are experiencing similar indoor air quality concerns and quantifying the information to present at SDEV’s annual member’s meeting and to the City of Detroit’s Council meeting. Using a google form, the survey was created with feedback from University of Michigan Public Health experts and other professional resources. With the internet, phone, and physical canvassing efforts, data was collected from 48 residents. We have found a majority of residents surveyed do experience some kind of air quality problems inside the house (grime, soot collecting on the walls, furnace filter color black, etc.) persisting for at least over a year. SDEV intends to use this data to push for real change and bring more resources to address the problem in people’s homes. By making the data accessible to the public, government decision-makers, and others who can bring resources, SDEV will work with community members and others to address the problem of indoor air quality. We have and will continue to connect with community members to bring awareness to the resources that can mitigate the impact of pollution at home. This work aligns with the recommendations of the community-based participatory research initiative Community Action to Promote Healthy Environments (CAPHE) facilitated by University of Michigan with SDEV and other local partners.
Authors: Maggie Striz, Raquel Garcia, Sarah Chung
Research Method: Community Based Research
https://www.sdevweb.org/
