Funding to protect children from housing-related lead poisoning, asthma & allergies
WASHINGTON – May 7, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced that it is making more than $100 million in grants available to help eliminate dangerous lead-based paint hazards from lower income homes in order to protect young children from lead poisoning and other housing related health and safety hazardssuch as mold and moisture, radon, pests and other asthma triggers.
As HUD approaches its 50th anniversary this year, HUD Secretary Julián Castro is focused on advancing policies that create opportunities for all Americans, including helping children and families secure quality housing by protecting them from the hazards of lead-based paint and other housing related health and safety hazards.
“There’s nothing more valuable than good health, and every family deserves to live in housing that offers clean air, safe drinking water, and an environment where they can thrive,” said Secretary Castro. “These grants will help communities achieve these goals by eliminating home-related hazards. Working with our partners, we’re ensuring that more Americans are able to secure a future that’s full of opportunities, not obstacles, for many years to come.”
“Every child deserves the opportunity to grow up in a healthy home, and yet far too many continue to be exposed to dangerous lead paint and other health hazards found in homes,” said Matt Ammon, Director of the Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes. “These grants will help communities around the nation to protect families from these exposures and ensure they are able to reach their full potential in life.”
Unsafe and unhealthy homes affect the health of millions of people of all income levels, geographic areas, and walks of life in the U.S. These homes affect the economy directly, through increased utilization of health care services, and indirectly, through lost wages and increased school days missed. The housing improvements communities will make will help prevent injuries and illnesses, reduce associated health care and social services costs, reduce absentee rates for children in school and adults at work, and reduce stress, all which help to improve the quality of life.
HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes promotes local efforts to eliminate dangerous lead paint and other housing related health hazards from lower income homes, stimulate private sector investment in lead hazard control, support cutting-edge research on methods for assessing and controlling housing related health and safety hazards, and educate the public about the dangers of hazards in the home.
The grants to States, local governments and the private sector are being offered through HUD’s Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Program totaling $48 million, and its Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Program totaling $45 million. In these grant programs, HUD is providing an additional $9 million as healthy homes supplemental funds to promote identify and remediate other housing related health hazards in homes with lead based paint hazards.
Due to Fiscal Year 2015 budgetary limitations, there are no available funds for either the Healthy Homes Production or the Asthma Interventions in Public and Assisted Multi-family Housing Grant Programs. HUD’s Fiscal Year 2016 Budget proposal now being reviewed by Congress requested $120 million overall for the Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes. At the requested funding level, these grant programs would address the health hazards in over 14,000 homes, especially those of low-income families with children, and spur creation of over 21,000 jobs in each of the three years of the grants. The House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee voted to approve $70 million overall for the Office. The House bill would allow HUD to address hazards in fewer than 6,000 homes.
HUD requires prospective grantees to submit applications electronically at www.grants.gov. Any changes to HUD-published funding notices will be made available to the public through a Federal Register publication and published on this government-wide portal. Applicants are urged to sign up for Grants.gov’s notification service to receive periodic updates or changes to these grant offerings.
HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.
More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet
at www.hud.gov and http://espanol.hud.gov.
You can also connect with HUD on social media and follow Secretary Castro on
Twitter and Facebook or sign up for news alerts on HUD’s Email List.
Shantae Goodloe
(202) 708-0685
