MILFORD — After a brief hiatus, Housing Opportunities of Warsaw is re-launching its Healthy Homes Initiative in partnership with Grace College’s Exercise Science program.

Healthy Homes, which is designed to help Kosciusko County families detect any health hazards in their household by pointing out links between home contaminants and homeowner health, is completely free and available to families of all income levels, said a news release from Housing Opportunities of Warsaw.

While homes are often viewed as safe havens from the dangers of the world, household contaminants often exist in houses unnoticed. Radon, carbon monoxide, asbestos, lead, pests, asthma triggers, secondhand smoke and allergens are all potentially dangerous threats that are tested for on a Healthy Homes visit.

Radon is of particular concern, as research is now showing that “pockets” of the radioactive gas tend to form within communities. In HOW’s initial Healthy Homes run, several pockets were found within Kosciusko County.

At each visit, trained Grace exercise science interns will go to a family’s home, perform several tests for toxins and fill out a questionnaire to discover anything that might be adversely affecting a family’s health. When a threat is found, HOW works with the family to find solutions, either via home repairs of lifestyle changes.

“We are thrilled to be working on the Healthy Homes project,” said Christina Walters, Director of Exercise Science at Grace. “This is the perfect opportunity for students to learn about the community, promote health and wellness, and gain experience in research. Healthy Homes is going to help teach our students about much more than collecting data. The assessments and project goals will provide an experience-based learning environment that will give shape their ability to impact the community they ultimately reside in one day.”

In addition to directly helping families detect dangerous substances, all data gathered from Healthy Homes will be compiled into a study that will go to help medical professionals and healthcare advocates; this information will give them gain a greater understanding of the link between home health and personal wellness.

“There have been similar studies in large urban areas, but rarely in a rural area like Kosciusko County,” said HOW’s executive director Pamela Kennedy.

Healthy Homes was started after HOW encountered specific instances where home circumstances lead to serious illnesses.

In one instance, a man was bedridden due to cancer and seemingly on his final days – his treatment was getting nowhere. While inspecting his roof before doing repairs, however, HOW noticed that a gas appliance was leaking carbon monoxide. Upon this discovery, HOW was able to repair said appliance using one of its repair programs, and the man is alive and well to this day.

“Healthy Homes has made impacts on many levels, and has the potential to impact even more,” said Kennedy. “We directly impact families by pointing out dangers they might have no idea exist. We can remedy big threats making their health conditions worse or hindering their recoveries, like removing radon with remediation systems. And we can help emphasize the link between home and health to the healthcare community.”

Any Kosciusko County resident with questions or interest in signing up for a Healthy Homes visit can go to warsawhousing.com/programs/healthy-homes-radon-testing/ or call 574-269-7641 extension 106.