Health Hazard. Flood Damage from Mold and Fungus

Phantom Fungus

Mary Murphy was alarmed by her grandson Zachary’s deteriorating health 4 months after Hurricane Floyd blew through their Hubert, NC, manufactured home in September 1999. Born with asthma, Zachary, age 5, had always suffered from common effects of the disease, so Mary and her husband, Garland, had always been careful as they raised him and his three siblings. But, in January 2000, following a series of doctors’ visits and stays in the local hospital, they found themselves rushing Zachary, now in serious condition with a collapsed lung, to Duke Hospital in Durham, NC. As the Murphys stood by Zachary’s hospital bed, they began mentally walking through their home searching for an explanation of his ongoing health issues. Mary and her husband returned home and began to look for the source of the problem.

Hurricane Floyd had ushered in a tornado that entered via their chimney and burst through the roof of their home, seemingly leaving behind little more than roof and carpet damage. Private insurance took care of the expense of restoring their home, but it was now apparent there was additional (undetected) damage. Upon deeper inspection, the Murphys discovered that water had pooled underneath the unelevated manufactured home, apparently the consequence of runoff from a widened roadway that added to an already flooded neighboring creek. The water had been permeating the walls, causing mold to grow and infect Zachary with air contaminants, particularly dangerous to his sensitive lungs.

Mary contacted the local Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) and, within 3 days, a FEMA Individual Assistance (IA) agent came to their property with an environmental expert who, following an inspection, condemned the property. FEMA further determined the family qualified for temporary housing in a FEMA trailer while their manufactured home was demolished and a new one installed.

In July 2001, with a manufactured home model selected, the family moved from the FEMA trailer to combine housekeeping locally with their adult daughter in order to allow contractors to begin setting up the new home. Eight truckloads of sand were spread and an elevated foundation built before placing the new manufactured home into place. On August 3, 2001, the family was able to finally return to their new home, now elevated and safe from environmental hazards.

“They saved my grandson’s life,” said Mary, speaking of FEMA, “because, if they had not stepped in, I don’t know what I would have done.” Mary went on to say, “It (the mold) probably would have ended up killing all of us.” It was found that the family’s church had mold growing as well, requiring the congregation to move to a new building as many were sickened from breathing airborne contaminants. “I can’t believe how that mold does hurt people so bad.”

Not only is Zachary, now age 16, fully recovered, but the Murphys’ home has not flooded since being re-established on an elevated foundation. “I really appreciate FEMA,” Mary said. “They were really nice, the people that came out. They were great.”

Prevention of Violence and Trauma of Women and Girls. Grant Opportunity

Prevention of Violence and Trauma of Women and Girls  

DHHS logo

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/ Office on Women's Health

Summary: Funding is available for activities and events in support of Prevention of Violence and Trauma of Women and Girls.

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Objectives
The purpose of this funding is to seek projects which increase awareness of violence and trauma affecting women and girls, offer prevention strategies and messages, and promote trauma-informed care to decrease violence against women and girls and to promote recovery and resiliency.

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Deadlines
Applications are due December 7, 2011, Mountain Time, by 5:00 pm.  Applications are to be submitted to owhapplication@jsi.com or via mail to:
JSI
Attn: Megan Hiltner
1725 Blake Street
Suite 400
Denver, CO 80202
 

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Description
OWH was established in 1991 in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, within the Office of the Secretary. Its mission is to improve the health of American women by advancing and coordinating a comprehensive women’s health agenda throughout DHHS. OWH is the government’s champion and primary agent for women’s health issues, working to address inequities in research, health care services and education that have historically placed the health of women at risk. OWH is DHHS’s focal point for ensuring that women’s health policy, practice, and research are mutually informed and effectively integrated within DHHS. OWH accomplishes this by collaborating with other federal and non‐federal partners on behalf of women and girls. OWH provides leadership to promote equity for women and girls through sex and gender specific approaches.

As part of its strategic plan, OWH continues to fund evidence‐based interventions to address gaps in women’s health that are not addressed at the national level by any other public or private entity. These interventions focus on health disparities in women’s health, in which minority status, disabilities, geography, family history, sexual orientation, low socioeconomic status, chronic conditions, and infectious diseases are contributing risk factors.

Violence against women and girls is perpetrated in all types of personal, professional and family relationships and crosses economic, educational, cultural, racial, age, and religious lines. The United States Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) estimated that nearly one‐third of women murdered each year in the United States are killed by their current or former intimate partners. BJS also reported that approximately one million women are stalked each year, and three percent of college women are victims of an attempted or completed rape in each academic year.

Research findings recognize trauma as a crosscutting, gender‐specific issue that has significant adverse effects on the health and wellbeing of women and girls. Violence against women and girls is a major form of trauma which encompasses intimate partner violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual abuse, stalking, emotional and verbal abuse; as well as bullying, human‐trafficking, and other forms of trauma or abuse. Violence affecting women and girls can take place in many settings including at home, at school, and in the workplace.

This funding opportunity addresses the physical, mental, and emotional impact of violence against women across the life span (i.e. girls, adolescent girls, women of reproductive age, pregnant women, mature women, and older women). Funding is available for specific events or activities intended to prevent, raise awareness of, and/or respond to the epidemic of violence against women and girls in the United States.

Proposals for funding may include activities such as: the development and implementation of organizational policies regarding screening for violence in health care settings; the development of organizational practices to provide trauma‐informed care to promote recovery and resiliency from violence and trauma; and outreach to workplaces and religious institutions on how they can adopt policies that address violence and ensure the safety of women and girls. Other activities may include VAW prevention workshops for women and girls; local public health awareness projects; VAW specific health fairs; and projects that engage men and boys in violence prevention programs

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Type of Assistance: Grant

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Eligibility
OWH funding is available to eligible entities located in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the six U.S.‐Affiliated Pacific Island Jurisdictions, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Eligible entities may include public and private non‐profit organizations, community and faith‐based organizations, health professional organizations, colleges and universities, community health centers, hospitals, health departments, and tribal and urban Indian organizations.

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Grant Contact: owhapplication@jsi.com; 1-866-224-3815

Grant Information Source:
Office On Womens Health (OWH)
200 Independence Ave Sw
Washington, District Of Columbia 20201
UNITED STATES
Website: https://www.rkb.us/leaving_site.cfm?location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ewomenshealth%2Egov%2Fabout%2Dus%2F

Page Last Updated: November 9, 2011

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Additional Information

• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Womens Health
• Prevention of Violence and Trauma of Women and Girls