Healthy Neighborhoods Program cuts possible in Niagara County
Posted by: Colleen Kulikowski in Local NewsLOCKPORT—When Niagara County lawmakers meet here Tuesday night, they will hear from the director of the “Healthy Neighborhoods” program about how state budget cuts have impacted the program’s ability to help homeowners take steps to guard against fire.
Healthy Neighborhoods has long worked to help county residents, primarily in Niagara Falls, combat environmental dangers such as lead paint and asthma-inducing materials. A secondary thrust of the program has been ensuring that home smoke detectors are functioning properly.
Cuts in the 2009-2010 state budget have undermined the program’s ability to meet that goal.
Theresa McCabe, who heads up the Healthy Neighborhoods program, part of Niagara County’s Department of Environmental Health, said that technicians regularly spend the summer months walking through neighborhoods ensuring that environmental contaminants aren’t present in homes. They also check for smoke detectors.
“When the technicians go into the home, if they find that the home does not have working smoke detectors, if it is a battery problem, we will replace the battery. If a smoke detector is no longer functioning—and by that, I mean that in smoke detectors more than ten years old, the sensors wear out—so if it is older than ten years or nonexistent, we will install a smoke detector for free,” McCabe said. “But we must have admittance to the home, because we install the detector.”
Severe cutbacks in the current state budget left Healthy Neighborhoods without funding for the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors they previously provided. Left with a significant shortfall, McCabe turned to two local groups, the Lewiston-based Kiwanis International and the Sertoma Club, both of which donated several hundred dollars to help Healthy Neighborhoods acquire a limited stockpile of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
“We’re very excited to have the donations from the Sertoma Club and the Kiwanis because of the budget cutbacks,” McCabe said. “We were left with a severe shortage of supplies. We feel that that’s sad, but that’s the way it is—everyone’s had to tighten their belts.”
Sertoma Club President John Reardon, who is also a member of the Lewiston Kiwanis, said he was glad the organizations could help.
“Both organizations got together and were very able to help this program by donating several hundred dollars toward the purchase of carbon monoxide alarms and smoke detectors,” Reardon said. “Both of our organizations are all-volunteer civic organizations. We’re here to help the community, and this is one of the projects where we were at least glad we could lend a hand.”
Reardon, who works at United Cerebral Palsy, said the experience of many of UCP’s clients had left him impressed with Healthy Neighborhoods and eager to assist.
“The Health Department does many great things in the community,” Reardon said. “At UCP, a number of our individuals that live in these neighborhoods have benefited from this program, so I know the tremendous value of this program. I know it’s a program that we need. It’s vital to Niagara County, and we’d like to see it continue.”
Reardon, along with Kiwanis President-elect Randy Gorzka, recently formally presented funds for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to the Healthy Neighborhoods program. Accepting the funds, along with McCabe, were County Legislators Jason Murgia, D-Niagara Falls, and Renae Kimble, D-Niagara Falls. The two legislators noted that the program has significant impact in the Falls districts they represent.
“The County of Niagara is extremely grateful for receiving the carbon monoxide and smoke detectors from Sertoma and the Kiwanis Club,” Kimble said, examining one of the carbon monoxide detectors with McCabe in her Niagara Falls office. “Due to the fact that there were extreme cuts in the state budget, Healthy Neighborhoods did not have supplies. And we need to make sure that our neighborhoods are healthy and that they are safe, and that our technicians can go out and give not just information, but adequate supplies to those individuals who need smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.”
Kimble, a longtime proponent of the program who walked with technicians in a neighborhood inside her 2nd District, said she found residents came to trust and rely on Healthy Neighborhoods.
“I think that the program is an extremely good program,” she said.
“People are extremely receptive once they know what the program is about to the idea that people are trying to help our population.
They’re not trying to be invasive, they’re trying to really help our population achieve a better quality of life.”
Kimble called on state lawmakers to restore funding for the program.
“This program definitely deserves as much funding as we can possibly acquire for it and as much support as we can give to it,” she said.
“For as little funding as they receive, they definitely provide a great service to Niagara County.”
McCabe, who was invited to address the Legislature before it takes up its agenda Tuesday night by Kimble and Murgia, will inform lawmakers about her program, how it is coping with state cuts, and the services Healthy Neighborhoods provides. McCabe’s presentation will be delivered at the beginning of the Legislature’s 7 p.m. meeting.
Tags: Healthy Neighborhoods, niagara county
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