Most of a multi-year, $1 million federal grant meant to tackle the root causes of asthma in Hampden County, Massachusetts, was terminated Friday by the Trump administration, according to a statement from Governor Maura Healey's office.
Cities and towns in the county have struggled for years with air quality issues and high asthma rates.
In their press release, Healey's office highlighted a recent report by the American Lung Association, which gave Hampden County air quality a grade of D — one of the worst in the state.
The "Environmental Justice" grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was administered through the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
DPH used the funds for in-home environmental remediation to address asthma in residents and communities disproportionately at risk.
The funding also went to community engagement, capacity building, and cross-bureau collaboration within DPH to address environmental hazards and to build community level adaptability.
DPH was working with Revitalize Community Development Corporation, in Springfield, Mass., which specializes in removing hazards inside of homes that can trigger asthma complications.
Colleen Shanley-Loveless, president and CEO of Revitalize, told NEPM their work is especially important in cities like Springfield, Holyoke and Chicopee which generally have older houses.
“The aging housing stock that we have, much of it is unhealthy or unsafe. It has mold. It has pests,” Shanley-Loveless said. “Things that people might have in their homes for decades — and now they're maybe retired, on Social Security. They have respiratory health conditions and they’re really in need of this assistance.”
Asthma remediation measures provide benefits to the wider medical system, can boost the economy and reduce hospital admissions Shanley-Loveless said.
"That's cost savings for the health care system, the medical centers ... and of course, better quality of life for the patients and the people that we're serving," she said, adding the measures also result in fewer missed school days for children and fewer missed workdays for families.
Without federal funding Revitalize CDC is instead relying on state funds which come with a much more limited scope.
“Much of [the state] funding is ‘oh, you can help this person, but in this zip code,' or 'they have to be a certain age,’ with all these types of restrictions, where this type of funding really didn't.” Shanley-Loveless said.
The federal grant had fewer requirements.
“As long as they were low income, they had these respiratory or chronic health conditions, then we could serve them and help them in their time of need," she said.
Shanley-Loveless said she hopes the state can come to an agreement with the federal government and explain to them how these funds serve vulnerable communities in western Massachusetts.
For now they’ll work with what they’ve got.
“We're trying to stay positive and keep moving forward and keep looking at other funding streams," Shanley-Loveless said. "But it's quite challenging, and we hope that we can still continue to serve the people that are in need.”