PAIR Program 

Portside Air Quality & Improvement Relief

Do you qualify for a free air monitor and purifier in your home?

What is the PAIR Program?

The PAIR Program is a two-year program dedicated to improving the indoor air quality in homes within Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, Sherman Heights, and West National City. These neighborhoods are known as Portside Communities because they are near the Port of San Diego. Portside Communities are exposed to more pollution than the rest of California because of their closeness to freeways, freight, and industrial activities.

Through funding from the County of San Diego and the Port of San Diego, over 500 Portside homes can receive a FREE air monitor and air purifier to improve air quality in their homes.

The San Diego Air Pollution Control District (APCD) is administering this program and the Environmental Health Coalition (EHC) is conducting outreach and education, handling installation, and processing applications. EHC will also be on call to handle any troubleshooting during the two-year program cycle.

Each participant will receive:

• Free delivery of the air monitor and air purifier with three additional filters to use during the two-year program.
• First home visit by the PAIR Community Organizer to install the air monitor, discuss the benefits of the program, collect their application, offer tips to improve the indoor air quality of their home, and connect the home air monitor to the APCD’s system.
• Second-home visit, 30 days later, to install the air purifier, explain how to replace the filter, and provide maintenance for the equipment.
• Folder with contact information for any troubleshooting needs, bilingual manuals for the equipment, list of local health clinics, and information about SDG&E’s CARE program to offset the costs of running the equipment 24/7.
• $125 stipend will be available for households that need financial assistance to help offset the costs of running the equipment.

Why is APCD monitoring the air in the homes of the participants?

APCD is interested in learning more about the pollutants and levels of pollutants inside Portside homes. This data can be used by the PAIR Program to identify additional resources to reduce the pollution exposure for Portside Communities.

Do you qualify for a free air monitor and purifier?

If you live in the Portside Communities of Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, Sherman Heights, and West National City you qualify to participate in the PAIR Program Communities to receive a free air monitor and purifier. 

How do you sign up?

If you'd like to receive a free air purifier and monitor, call our bilingual PAIR Hotline at 619.603.7758, leave your name, address, and phone number. Supplies are limited.

If you have questions, please contact Laura Benavidez, PAIR Program Community Organizer by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or through our hotline (619.603.7758). Laura is bilingual in English and Spanish. 

What do you get?

Air Monitor: IQAir Air Visual Pro

• Monitors indoor PM2.5, carbon dioxide, humidity, temperature, weather
• 3-day air quality forecasts and historic air data
• Recommendations on when to turn on the air purifier
• No phone/computer required
• Shows outdoor air quality readings from the closest air regulatory air monitor

Air Purifier: Blueair Blue Pure 311 Auto

• Covers a medium-sized room
• Filters air 5x an hour
• “Auto” feature automatically turns the unit on/off when PM levels are high
• 6-month filter life (when running 24 hrs/day) and includes three extra filters

PAIR Partners

Juneteenth a Celebration of Freedom

More than two years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed 3 million enslaved people in the U.S, an estimated 250,000 people were still being forced into slavery in Texas. That changed soon after General Granger arrived in the state with his troops.

On June 19, 1865, General Granger delivered General Order Number 3, which read:

“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer."

According to Juneteenth.com, “The reactions to this profound news ranged from pure shock to immediate jubilation.” June 19th became a yearly celebration of freedom for black Americans and was dubbed Juneteenth. It is also known as Emancipation Day. Two days short of its 156 years birthday, President Joe Biden signed a bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday.

 In celebration of the emancipation of the more than 3 million enslaved people in the United States, Environmental Health Coalition observes Juneteenth. We also take this moment to remember that it was only 156 years ago that black people were enslaved in our country. While celebrating freedom and all the contributions black Americans have made to the U.S. and the world, we must acknowledge that as a society we have fallen short of equity and equality and reaffirm our commitment to fighting for racial justice.

To learn more about Juneteenth, please visit juneteenth.com. To learn how you can celebrate with your family and friends, or join a celebration, check out the links below.

Happy Juneteenth!

How to celebrate Juneteenth:

9 Way to Celebrate Juneteenth in 2021

This Is How We Juneteenth

Local Celebrations:

'Say It Loud' Celebrates Juneteenth With Local Black Talent

Oceanside tea shop owner plans Juneteenth celebration Saturday

Cooper Family Freedom Festival - NAACP San Diego Branch

Local Events to Celebrate Juneteenth in San Diego County

Did you know that June is Healthy Homes Month? 

During this pandemic year, we should be calling it Healthy Homes & Healthy Office Month. For many of us, chances are that your home is also your office. While we have been cleaning and disinfecting to keep COVID-19 away, a healthy home is much more than that.  A healthy home is well-ventilated, dry, clean, safe, pest-free, contaminant-free, well maintained, and thermally controlled.  For most parents, I know it’s been challenging to keep our homes and offices healthy, especially during this pandemic year.

I invite you (and myself ?) to take this Healthy Homes Month to integrate some simple steps to help our homes and office spaces be and feel healthy.

Check out the flyers to learn how to make your home healthy! 

This year’s Healthy Homes theme is The Power of Partnerships. At EHC, we are grateful to all of our partners that we have worked alongside during our 40 years of fighting for Environmental Justice. Thank you partners for your dedication, support, and leadership in keeping our homes safe, healthy, and affordable. Thank you to:

HUD Lead & Healthy Homes Office, San Diego Housing Commission, City of San Diego Environmental Services Department, San Diego City Attorney’s Office, City of National City Housing Authority, City of National City Community Development, MAAC Project Weatherization Program, Campesinos Unidos, Rebuilding Together, Energy Team, La Maestra Community Health Centers, San Ysidro Health Center

We look forward to getting back to our healthy homes visits. They are an opportunity to visit families and share information about healthy homes, conduct a healthy homes assessment, and provide a free kit with resources and tools that families can put to use right away.  As part of our visit, we provide a customized healthy homes plan and may refer families to lead hazard control programs, weatherization services, code enforcement, and/or to our local clinics to support asthma, respiratory illnesses, lead poisoning. It does take a village!  Again, thank you, partners! 

What’s your favorite Healthy Homes Tip?

• Open Your Windows for Better Ventilation
• Taking 5-minute showers to save water and reduce your energy bill
• Stop Using Pesticides. Use non-toxic methods to get rid of pests. Integrated Pest Management | HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
• Use Non-Toxic Household Cleaners such as EHC’s Multipurpose Cleaning Solution
  • Spray Bottle, Water, 2 Tablespoons of Dishwashing Soap and 2 Tablespoons of Vinegar

This year's theme, "Healthy Housing for All", highlights the importance of safe and healthy living in your home; no matter where you live. Through emphasizing the importance of home maintenance, this month, HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes seeks to highlight the connection between your internal environment and your health.

This year's National Healthy Homes Month focuses on:

• Raising awareness of the importance of Home Maintenance and the impact on health.
• Educating the public about free local resources available.
• Encouraging implementation of online activities and events in targeted communities.

The Eight Principles of a Healthy Home

(Images courtesy of: HUD/NHHM)

Rosa Vaquera lives in Barrio Logan and is a single mother of four children. According to CalEnviroScreen, Rosa’s community ranks in the top 25 percent of census tracts for pollution impact, including a high risk for asthma. Rosa and her daughter Ximena both suffer from asthma. Ximena's is an extreme type of asthma that prevents her from playing outdoors as frequently as other children her age. At the same time, Rosa and Ximena's asthma was also being aggravated indoors.

[Learn how to create a healthy home for your family]

Healthy Homes Assessment

In 2018, Rosa attended a community-based EHC workshop on the air quality and monitoring at Perkins Elementary School. After the workshop, she filled out an intake form expressing interest in a Healthy Homes Assessment, and a possible indoor air filter for her home. An assessment of Rosa's home revealed that she did not open her windows for most of the day. This was mainly because of bad odors and loud noises common in her neighborhood.

The practice of keeping windows shut in her area is more accurately a result of air pollution and living in a neighborhood with an outdated community plan. The 1978 Barrio Logan community plan permits mixed land use zoning, allowing polluting industries and businesses to operate in residential areas, often much too close to homes and schools. Rosa and Ximena live next door to such industries.

During the Healthy Homes Assessment, EHC learned that Ximena would have asthma attacks on a monthly basis, often at night. In an attempt to improve air circulation, Rosa would open windows, but only in the kitchen and not in the living room or children's bedrooms. This created poor air circulation, especially in Ximena’s small, shared room where the window always remained closed. Rosa also regularly hired friends to clean her house when her family was not home due to their extreme sensitivity to toxic cleaning supplies.

Living in a Healthier Home

Rosa has implemented many of the recommendations given to her after EHC's Healthy Homes Assessment. These include having most of the windows open to improve air circulation, use of non-toxic cleaning solutions, and turning on her stove fan while cooking. EHC determined that Rosa's home qualified to receive indoor and outdoor air monitors and a Home IQ Air Filter. Both Rosa and Ximena are breathing much better because of living in a healthier home.

EHC is committed to improving the quality of life in our communities by fighting conditions that expose low-income communities of color to environmental hazards. We want Ximena to grow up healthy with clean air, regardless of where she lives.