Healthy Environmental Living Program (HELP)

The Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 through the Healthy Environmental Living Program (CFDA 66.963) funds projects that reduce environmental risk and improve public health in underserved communities within EPA Region 6, with the most recent grant award made December 12, 2022.

This program funds concrete environmental health and pollution-prevention projects in Target Investment Areas, demonstrated by recent awards including mosquito surveillance and disease monitoring infrastructure in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, New Mexico; sustainability assessments and pollution-reduction work in 20 grocery stores across Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma; medical sharps collection and safe disposal infrastructure for diabetic communities and Native Nations populations in Oklahoma; energy efficiency and water conservation retrofits in multifamily affordable housing in New Mexico; and indoor air quality improvement assessments and training in early childhood care facilities across Northwest Arkansas.

All five grant awards in the portfolio were disbursed in 2022; the program has not posted new opportunities since the January 28, 2022 deadline for solicitation EPA-R6-HELP-2021. Combined federal dollars obligated total $310 thousand across the five awards, with recipients contributing $347 thousand in non-federal match, bringing total project value to $657 thousand. Awards in the recent portfolio ranged from $63,256 to $246,868.

The funding mix is predominantly Cooperative Agreements (80 percent of awards, four recipients) with one Project Grant (20 percent). All funding came from Environmental Protection Agency Region 6, which is the sole funder under this program.

Recent representative awards include Growing Up Healthy's $246,868 cooperative agreement for indoor air quality improvements and child care facility assessments across Northwest Arkansas; the Product Stewardship Institute's $205,300 award to expand medical sharps collection infrastructure in Oklahoma; and the City of Albuquerque's $70,800 award for Aedes aegypti mosquito surveillance and disease monitoring.

Applicants must address Environmental Justice issues in EPA Region 6 states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas) and demonstrate measurable results in one or more of four target program areas: Pollution Prevention, Sustainable Materials Management, Lead-based Paint, or Integrated Pest Management. No recent grant opportunities are currently posted.