Free air purifiers will be issued by the Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition (NEOBHC) on May 26 after Cleveland received a poor air quality grade last month.
People can receive a free desk air purifier or a room air purifier after completing a pair of surveys. There is no proof of income required, but people who have previously received a free purifier from NEOBHC are not eligible.
The goal is to help provide the equipment to low-income individuals, seniors and families of children with chronic health conditions like asthma, bronchitis and emphysema, a NEOBHC spokesperson said.
People interested in a free air purifier from NEOBHC should email info@neobhc.org and provide their name and phone number to receive details for pick-up.
They work by filtering indoor air of contaminants and can help reduce allergy and asthma symptoms.
Air purifiers are particularly important for people who live with a smoker in their home or who live in neighborhoods with no trees, according to NEOBHC.
The American Lung Association recently gave Cleveland an "F" for air quality in its annual State of the Air report, released April 23. Cleveland was also ranked the ninth most polluted city in the United States, based on the report's air quality data from 2021-2023.
The report also graded exposure to ground-level ozone air pollution (also known as smog) and particle pollution (also known as soot). Air pollution can cause premature death and various health concerns, including asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes and preterm births. Particle pollution can also cause lung cancer, according to the American Lung Association.
“Unfortunately, too many people in Cleveland are living with unhealthy levels of ozone and particle pollution," Kezia Ofosu Atta, advocacy director for the American Lung Association in Ohio, said in a statement. "This air pollution is causing kids to have asthma attacks, making people who work outdoors sick and unable to work, and leading to low birth weight in babies.”
Nationally, the report found that nearly half of all Americans live in an area that received a failing grade for at least one measure of air pollution — ozone or particle pollution. It also determined that people of color are more than twice as likely as white individuals to live in a community with a failing grade.
