Welcome to HomeFree
A national initiative supporting affordable housing leaders who are improving human health by using less toxic building materials.
Latest News
Choosing Drywall Accessory Products
Several types of accessory products are commonly used in drywall installation. Paper tape and joint compound, also referred to as ‘mud,’ are used for sealing the joints between drywall panels. Sealants may also be used to seal gaps for acoustical reasons. Here are some general rules of thumb to use...
Read MoreHealthy Building Network Welcomes Roberto Valle Kinloch as the new HomeFree Manager
HBN is thrilled to announce new leadership of our HomeFree program. Please join us in welcoming Roberto Valle Kinloch!
Read MoreHow Do We Know? A Peek Inside HBN’s Research Process
When we know better we do better. For 20 years, HBN has been a source of the truth in building materials contents and the associated hazards and impacts of those materials. How do we know this information? This article offers insights into the research methodology that help us “know better”.
Read MoreMaterials Transparency: Past, Present and Future
Our colleagues at the Health Product Declaration Collaborative recently implemented the newest version of the Health Product Declaration Open Standard, v2.2. At HBN, we thought we’d take the opportunity to consider where we currently are with respect to transparency in the built environment, reflect upon how far we have come...
Read MoreIf you find this work valuable, consider making a donation to Healthy Building Network
DonateFeatured User
Jess Blanch
Assoc. AIA, LEED, Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellow
Jess is a Design Associate and Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellow at Capitol Hill Housing (CHH) in Seattle, where she is focused on advancing CHH's capacity in design excellence, sustainability, and community engagement in a variety of low-income housing and community development projects. Jess brings over a decade of experience in affordable housing and community-engaged design work.
A champion for healthy materials in affordable housing, she has presented the topic at AIA Seattle’s Material Matters education series. Jess is spearheading CHH’s Healthy Homes Initiative to promote healthier work and living environments by reducing toxins in CHH’s 48 low-income housing properties, and educating over 2,300 CHH residents and staff on using healthier materials and green cleaning products.
Jess uses HomeFree on the Liberty Bank Building project, one of HomeFree’s pilot Demonstration Projects. The HomeFree principles and lessons learned from the design of the Liberty Bank Building have heavily influenced the CHH Healthy Homes Initiative, especially in creating design and operations guidelines to be used at all of CHH’s affordable housing properties.