Join us and local non-profit REACH West Central in building 250 low-cost air purifiers to be given away to West Central residents
prior to the beginning of the wildfire smoke season in 2022. We’ll use a simple design for constructing a low-cost air purifier developed by the Common Humanity Collective in the San Francisco Bay area.
Event will include training on how to build purifiers and will conclude with lunch provided by the Dornsife Center.
The West Central neighborhood in Spokane includes the lowest-income zip code in the
Northwest. According to Spokane County Community Development Block Group data, 74
percent of West Central residents fit the designation of low-to-moderate income.
● Since 2015, Spokane has averaged 8 days a year where air quality failed health-based
standards for fine smoke particles during wildfire season (source: Spokane Clean Air
Org)
● Many children in West Central are affected by breathing problems such as asthma,
which is exacerbated by wildfire smoke. Rates of youth asthma are higher for Spokane
County than for the state of Washington in general (source:
countyhealthinsights.org/county/spokane/indicators/asthma-youth/)
● Many neighborhood residents live in aging housing stock with poorly insulated, drafty
doors and windows
● Very few homes in the West Central neighborhood are equipped with air conditioning or
with an HVAC system that allows for efficient air filtration
REACH will provide residents who don’t have access to efficient air filtration with a simple way
to clean indoor air during wildfire smoke events, when the Air Quality Index (AQI) is at
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups and above.
