Programs & Initiatives
Master Home Environmentalist Program
The Master Home Environmentalist (MHE) Program provides training to community members that allows them to help homeowners and renters identify safety hazards in their homes.
The main tool the MHEs use is called the HEAL – Home Environmental Assessment List. Through this comprehensive survey, trained MHEs can pinpoint environmental, structural, and behavioral hazards while assisting residents in identifying changes they can make to improve their living conditions.
The Memphis/Shelby County MHE Program is an initiative of the Healthy Homes Partnership and is administered by Green & Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI). Upon completion of the HEAL assessment, GHHI staff help triage residents to partner programs for repairs and other assistance to help make their homes healthier, safe and energy efficient.
MHE Free Information Resources:
Memphis Lead Coalition (MLC)
The Memphis Lead Coalition (MLC) is a multi-sector coalition formed in 2023 to reduce the incidence and negative effects of lead poisoning in young children.
Coalition members meet on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. They work as both a learning collaborative and a lead advocacy group to improve services, systems and policies related to lead, and to increase resources for lead remediation in affected communities.
Coalition members also collaborate on lead education, outreach and awareness events and projects such as the Lead Watch 901 video, National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, and the Memphis Lead Scan. The Coalition’s advisory board (ALARM) is made up of caregivers of children diagnosed with lead poisoning and has an important role in building awareness among members and the public about the ongoing need for services for lead-affected children.
Lead Watch 901 raises awareness around the ongoing concerns of legacy lead pollution in Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee.
ALARM Family Council
Advocates for Lead Awareness and Remediation in Memphis (ALARM), the family advisory council for the Memphis Lead Coalition, meets quarterly and includes caregivers of children who were diagnosed with lead poisoning. ALARM members advise on the lead scan, public education, lead policy and on other MLC activities. If you are interested in joining ALARM, please see the ALARM recruitment form for additional information.
Memphis Lead Scan
Dozens of entities share responsibility for lead poisoning prevention and/or remediation, including public health, housing, code enforcement, environmental courts, water utilities, public works, pediatricians, child development services, schools, contractors, landlords, and state and federal environmental agencies. Understanding how these entities provide services and interrelate is essential to finding better ways to prevent lead poisoning and achieve health equity for lead-impacted children and communities.
The Lead Scan is an initiative of the Memphis Lead Coalition and the University of Memphis School of Public Health and Cecil C. Humphries School of Law. In 2024-2025, with funding from Shelby County Community Services Agency, local nonprofit and governmental agencies participated in agency lead scan interviews and development of a MLC network map. Research on federal, state and local laws and policies was also conducted by U of M. This information is being published in a Lead Scan Dashboard, that will be expanded as the scan continues. Through the dashboard, MLC members are learning how to better collaborate and help families find and obtain needed services for children affected by lead.
If you are interested in joining or have questions about the MLC, email cathy.marcinko@mlh.org.