A £10,000 grant was awarded to the Leeds Older People’s Forum, who in partnership with Leeds City Council, launched the Home Air Quality project to highlight the impact of indoor air pollution on health, particularly among older people and those living with dementia in Leeds.
Working with the council’s Public Health team, a series of interactive workshops were delivered across Leeds targeting vulnerable groups identified through the air quality health needs assessments. A workforce video and other resources were created to support ongoing training within the city’s Neighbourhood Networks and dementia-friendly community groups.
Ventilating rooms, cooking on the back of electric hobs and burning fewer candles were just some of the things people said they would do to help improve indoor air pollution.
The project supports the ambitions of the Leeds Air Quality Strategy providing practical resources for healthcare workers and community organisations to help raise awareness of how poor indoor air quality can impact health and what people can do to improve air quality in their own homes.
Joanne Volpe, Chief Executive at Leeds Older People’s Forum commented:
The £10,000 grant from Zurich Community Trust has positively impacted public health awareness in Leeds for older people, people living with dementia and their carers and supporters by spotlighting indoor air quality and its health effects. For many people this was an unknown topic and a real eye opener in relation to the link with Heart Disease, COPD, Cancer, Stroke and emerging evidence on Dementia.
We achieved this through outreach via interactive workshops in targeted areas of the city. We used accessible resources like the top tips’ leaflet, air quality monitors, produced a work force video and signposted to relevant services and support like Care and Repair and the Green Doctor.
92.5% of people who attended a session said they would put into practice something they had learnt, be it changes to their own homes or to their behaviours. The 10 top tips leaflet was also reprinted by the Leeds City Council- Public Health Team so that it could be further utilised increasing the sustainability of the project.
Councillor Fiona Venner, Leeds City Council executive member for equalities, health and wellbeing, said:
We welcome the opportunity provided through the Zurich Community Trust to work with the Leeds Older People’s Forum to raise awareness of the impact of poor indoor air quality on the health of older people. This has allowed us to educate the older people on the harmful effects of air pollution and provide useful tips that everyone can do at home to reduce the amount of pollution they are exposed to.
We will continue to work with our Leeds Neighbourhood Networks throughout the autumn and winter to raise more awareness using the materials delivered from the grant, allowing us to educate more people on improving their air quality indoors.
Zurich Community Trust has awarded a total of £300,000 in sustainability grants to 31 charity partners over the past three years. The funding has helped bridge financial gaps and tackle additional challenges faced by charities such as scaling sustainability efforts despite the cost-of-living crisis, while providing charities with essential skills and support to remain resilient and effective.