HUD Archives: News Releases


HUD No. 03-094
Brian Sullivan
(202) 708-0685 ext. 7527
For Release
Thursday
October 2, 2003

MARTINEZ ANNOUNCES $147 MILLION TO PROTECT CHILDREN AND
FAMILIES FROM DANGEROUS LEAD AND OTHER HOME HEALTH AND SAFETY HAZARDS
New Orleans Receives Four Grants Totaling $5.4 Million

WASHINGTON - Thousands of children and families in 27 states and the District of Columbia will live in healthier
homes due to more than $147 million in grants announced today by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez. Martinez made today's record funding announcement to officially launch National Healthy Homes Month during October.

The grants will help 70 local programs around the country to remove potentially dangerous lead from lower income homes; to stimulate private sector investment in lead hazard control; to educate the public about the dangers of lead-based paint; to fund model programs promoting healthier and safer home environments; and, to support
scientific research into innovative methods of identifying and eliminating health hazards in housing (see attached
list).

"Whether it's eliminating lead hazards in housing or studying new ways to make our homes healthier, the funds we announce today are all designed to protect our most precious resource - our children," said Martinez. "Today we continue HUD's investment in making our homes a healthier and safer place for parents to raise their kids."

Lead Hazard Control Grant Programs

The funding announced today includes $124 million nationally 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 the Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration grant programs.

In addition, HUD's Operation LEAP (Lead Elimination Action Program) will provide $9.9 million nationally to stimulate private sector contributions that will enable children to grow up in homes that are free from lead-based paint
hazards. Further, $2.8 million will be awarded nationally in Lead Technical Studies grants to assist local research institutions to study ways to drive down the cost and increase the effectiveness of lead hazard identification and control

HUD's lead hazard control program is working. Today, the Department estimates that 26 million fewer homes have lead-based paint compared to 1990 when the program began. Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the average amount of lead in children's blood has declined by 50 percent from a decade ago. Ten years ago, there was no federal funding for local lead hazard control work in privately owned housing;
today, the HUD program is active in over 250 communities across the country.

Healthy Homes Initiative

HUD's Healthy Homes Initiative builds upon the Department's existing activities in housing-related health and safety issues - including lead hazard control, building structural safety, electrical safety, and fire protection - to address multiple childhood diseases and injuries in the home. The Initiative takes a holistic approach to these activities by addressing housing-related hazards in a coordinated fashion, rather than addressing a single hazard at a time.

The Department is providing more than $2 million nationally in technical studies grants to support scientific research into innovative methods of identifying and eliminating health hazards in housing.

The following is a breakdown of the funding announced today for New Orleans:

City of New Orleans-Lead Hazard Control Grant
$2,904,733
ACORN Assoc. Inc-Operation LEAP Grant
$999,974
Tulane University-Healthy Homes Technical Studies Grant
$854,909
Xavier University-Lead Technical Studies Grant
$693,635
Total
$5,453,251

The City of New Orleans will be awarded $2,904,733 in Lead Hazard Control grant funds to perform lead hazard
control in 230 housing units. The Division of Housing and Neighborhood Development will administer the lead grant
and partner with the Health Department to obtain referrals of pregnant women and children with elevated blood lead levels. Grant funds will be leveraged with resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and HUD Community Development Block Grant funds to further blood-lead screening. The City of New Orleans will contribute $395,267 in local matching funds.

ACORN Associates' Children's Environmental Health Program will use its Operation LEAP grant to implement a 24-
month lead hazard identification, control, and private sector leveraging project in Baltimore, Md., and New Orleans. They will develop a Community Consortium that will act upon the need to increase funding and tangible support for environmental health issues.

Tulane University will use its Healthy Homes Technical Studies grant to conduct a study on the effects of providing intensive education and supplies related to reducing levels of household allergens and dust-lead to caregivers of inner-city asthmatic children.

Xavier University will use its Lead Technical Studies grant to study the effectiveness of an alternate method of decreasing soil lead dust in the environment.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities, creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans, supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development as well as
enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet.

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The following is a state-by-state breakdown of the funding announced today:

State Name of Grantee Community Program*
Funding
AZ Cochise County Cochise County LHC
$1,981,624
CA City of National City National City LHC
$2,984,152
CA Santa Cruz County Santa Cruz County LHC
$2,102,119
CA O.C. Community Development Council, Inc. Garden Grove LEAP
$1,233,604
CA City of Los Angeles Los Angeles LHRD
$2,593,618
CA City of Los Angeles Los Angeles LPO
$514,764
CA San Bernardino County San Bernardino LHRD
$2,600,000
CA City of San Diego San Diego LPO
$478,927
CA City and County of San Francisco San Francisco LHRD
$2,600,000
CT Town of East Hartford East Hartford LHC
$3,000,000
CT State of Connecticut State of Connecticut LHC
$3,000,000
CT State of Connecticut Hartford LHRD
$2,600,000
DC District of Columbia Washington, DC LHC
$2,997,743
DC District of Columbia Washington, DC LHRD
$2,000,000
DC Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning Washington, DC LEAP
$2,477,295
DC Howard University Washington, DC LTS
$999,998
FL City of Jacksonville Jacksonville LHC
$2,196,000
GA Georgia Tech Applied Research Corporation Atlanta HHTS
$249,864
IA City of Dubuque Dubuque LHC
$2,417,399
IA City of Waterloo Waterloo LHC
$2,105,800
ID Panhandle Health District Coeur D'Alene LTS
$252,071
IL City of Chicago Chicago LHRD
$2,600,000
IL University of Illinois Champaign LTS
$249,999
IL University of Illinois Champaign HHTS
$280,266
KS State of Kansas State of Kansas LHC
$2,999,955
LA City of New Orleans New Orleans LHC
$2,904,733
LA Xavier University New Orleans LTS
$693,635
LA Tulane University New Orleans HHTS
$854,909
LA ACORN Associates, Inc. New Orleans LEAP
$999,974
MA City of Boston Boston LHRD
$2,600,000
MA The Medical Foundation, NE Asthma Regional Council Boston HHD
$766,355
MD State of Maryland State of Maryland LHC
$3,000,000
MD City of Baltimore Baltimore LHRD
$2,600,000
MD National Coalition for Lead Safe Environments Olney LEAP
$1,265,415
MD CONNOR Environmental Services Baltimore LEAP
$194,623
MI City of Grand Rapids Grand Rapids LHC
$2,966,651
MI City of Grand Rapids Grand Rapids LHRD
$2,000,000
MN Hennepin County Hennepin County LHC
$2,999,834
MN Hennepin County Minneapolis LHRD
$2,000,000
MN State of Minnesota State of Minnesota LHC
$2,453,664
MN City of Minneapolis Minneapolis LPO
$370,824
MN City of Minneapolis Minneapolis, St. Paul & Ramsey Co. HHD
$650,000
MN University of Minnesota Minneapolis HHTS
$624,233
MO City of Kansas City Kansas City LPO
$250,000
MO City of St. Louis St. Louis LHRD
$2,600,000
NC City of Charlotte Charlotte LPO
$288,457
NC Research Triangle Institute Research Triangle Park LTS
$445,000
NJ State of New Jersey State of New Jersey LHC
$3,000,000
NY City of Rochester Rochester LHC
$2,918,430
NY City of Rochester Rochester LHRD
$2,568,248
NY Environmental Education Associates Buffalo LEAP
$1,892,349
NY City of New York New York City LPO
$500,000
NY NY Indoor Environmental Quality Center, Inc Syracuse HHD
$850,000
NY Westchester County Westchester County LHC
$3,000,000
NY Westchester County White Plains LHRD
$2,000,000
NY City of New York New York LHRD
$2,600,000
NY City of Syracuse Syracuse LHRD
$2,600,000
NY Department of Health Erie County HHD
$950,000
OH City of Toledo Toledo LHC
$2,958,448
OH City of Cleveland Cleveland LHRD
$2,713,421
OH Cuyahoga County Board of Health Cuyahoga County HHD
$950,000
OH Board of Mahoning County Commissioners Mahoning County HHD
$900,000
OH Mahoning County Youngstown LHRD
$2,600,000
OH University of Cincinnati Cincinnati LTS
$233,420
PA City of Allentown Allentown LHC
$1,149,077
PA City of Erie Erie LHC
$3,000,000
PA City of Harrisburg Harrisburg LHC
$3,000,000
PA Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Commonwealth of Pennsylvania LHC
$3,000,000
PA City of Philadelphia Philadelphia LHRD
$2,599,998
RI City of Warwick Warwick LHC
$1,887,814
RI City of Woonsocket Woonsocket LHC
$585,000
TN City of Memphis Memphis LHRD
$2,599,715
TN Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro LEAP
$1,871,740
TN Shelby County Shelby County LHC
$3,000,000
TX City of El Paso El Paso LHC
$721,300
VA City of Roanoke Roanoke LHC
$1,543,704
VT City of Burlington Burlington LHC
$1,567,019
WA Neighborhood House, Inc Seattle HHD
$850,000
WI City of Milwaukee Milwaukee LHRD
$2,600,000
WI City of Sheboygan Sheboygan LHC
$3,000,000


* LHC - Lead Hazard Control Grant Program
   LHRD - Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration
   LEAP - Operation Lead Elimination Action Program
   LPO - Lead Paint Outreach Grant Program
   LTS - Lead Technical Studies
   HHTS - Healthy Homes Technical Studies
   HHD - Healthy Homes Demonstration Program

 

 
Content Archived: March 11, 2011