Funding to make low-income housing safer and healthier
WASHINGTON, DC – September 15, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development today awarded $93 million in grants to 39 local projects to conduct a wide range of activities intended to protect children and families from potentially dangerous lead-based paint and other home health and safety hazards. Read a complete project-by-project summary of the programs awarded grants today.
The grant funding announced today will clean up lead and other health hazards in nearly 7,000 high-risk homes, train workers in lead safety methods, and increase public awareness about childhood lead poisoning. Lead is a known toxin that can impair children’s development and have effects lasting into adulthood.
“Protecting the health and well-being of children is a top priority for HUD. We know that housing conditions directly affect the health of its occupants,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “These grants will help communities around the nation to protect families from lead exposure and other significant health and safety hazards.”
With these grant awards, HUD makes it clear that providing healthy and safe homes for families and children is a priority. It’s simple: you can’t be healthy if your home is sick. HUD is committed to protecting children from these hazards, as part of the Department’s effort to help make the nation’s housing healthy and sustainable. Along with lead hazard control work, HUD is awarding funds to promote and develop programs to identify and address multiple housing-related health hazards with lead hazard control intervention work.
Through its grant programs, HUD’s Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control promotes local efforts to eliminate dangerous lead hazards from lower income homes; stimulates private sector investment in lead hazard control; and educates the public about the dangers of lead-based paint.
Lead Hazard Control Grant Programs
Even though lead-based paint was banned for residential use in 1978, HUD estimates that approximately 24 million homes still have significant lead-based paint hazards today. Lead-contaminated dust is the primary cause of lead exposure and can lead to a variety of health problems in young children, including reduced IQ, learning disabilities, developmental delays, reduced height, and impaired hearing. At higher levels, lead can damage a child’s kidneys and central nervous system and cause anemia, coma, convulsions and even death.
The funding announced today directs critical funds to cities, counties and states to eliminate dangerous lead paint hazards in thousands of privately-owned, low-income housing units. These funds are provided through HUD’s Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control and Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration grant programs. To expand the reach of HUD’s Lead Hazard Control Program, more than $4 million of this funding will support new grantees. HUD is also providing nearly $2.3 million to help communities transform their lead hazard control programs to address multiple housing-related hazards.
The following is a state-by-state breakdown of the funding announced today:
|
State |
Grantee |
Amount |
| Arizona | City of Phoenix |
$2,475,000 |
| California | City and County of San Francisco |
$2,500,000 |
| City of Pomona |
$2,475,000 |
|
| City of South Lake Tahoe |
$2,000,000 |
|
| County of Alameda |
$2,134,863 |
|
| City of Fresno |
$2,475,000 |
|
| Connecticut | State of Connecticut |
$3,000,000 |
|
|
City of Waterbury |
$2,475,000 |
| Delaware | City of Wilmington |
$2,589,695 |
| Illinois | City of Chicago |
$3,000,000 |
| Winnebago County Health Department |
$2,885,700 |
|
|
|
County of Peoria |
$2,475,000 |
|
|
County of Kane |
$1,040,796 |
| Indiana | Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County |
$3,000,000 |
| Iowa | City of Davenport |
$2,475,000 |
|
|
Polk County |
$2,475,000 |
|
|
City of Waterloo |
$1,705,557 |
| Kentucky | Kentucky Department for Public Health |
$1,099,971 |
| Massachusetts | City of Boston |
$2,475,000 |
| City of Lynn |
$2,469,051 |
|
| Malden Redevelopment Authority-City of Malden |
$3,000,000 |
|
| Michigan | City of Lansing |
$1,728,605 |
|
|
County of Muskegon |
$1,100,000 |
| Minnesota | Hennepin County |
$3,000,000 |
| Missouri | St. Louis Community Development Administration |
$3,000,000 |
| New York | Erie County |
$2,375,000 |
| North Carolina | City of High Point |
$2,475,000 |
| Ohio | City of Columbus |
$3,000,000 |
| Pennsylvania | City of Philadelphia |
$3,000,000 |
|
|
Redevelopment Authority of the City of Erie |
$2,475,000 |
| Tennessee | City of Memphis |
$3,000,000 |
| Texas | City of Austin |
$2,500,000 |
|
|
City of San Antonio |
$3,000,000 |
|
|
County of Harris |
$2,700,000 |
|
|
Houston Department of Health and Human Services |
$3,000,000 |
| Vermont | City of Burlington |
$2,475,000 |
| Virginia | City of Petersburg |
$1,100,000 |
|
|
City of Roanoke |
$1,855,733 |
| Wisconsin | City of Waukesha |
$1,100,000 |
|
TOTAL |
$93,109,971 |
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HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and http://espanol.hud.gov. You can also follow HUD on twitter @HUDnews, on facebook at www.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD’s News Listserv.
Contact:
Shantae Goodloe
(202)-708-0685
