HUD
No. 03-094 Adam Glantz (212) 264-1100 |
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
Erie County to receive about $3 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 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 to stimulate private sector contributions
that will enable children to grow up in homes that are free from
lead-based paint hazards. HUD will also award $2.4 million in Lead
Outreach grants to support public education campaigns on the hazards
of lead-based paint and what parents, building owners and others
can do to protect children. Further, $2.8 million will
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.
Included in the funding announced today is more than $5.9 million
in demonstration grants to help local communities identify and eliminate
housing conditions that contribute to children's disease and injury,
such as asthma, lead poisoning, mold exposure, and carbon monoxide
contamination. HUD is also providing more than $2 million 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 nationwide funding announced today:
Lead Hazard Control |
$74,440,466
|
Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration |
$49,675,000
|
Operation LEAP |
$9,935,000
|
Lead Outreach |
$2,402,972
|
Healthy Homes Demonstration |
$5,916,355
|
Healthy Homes Technical Studies |
$2,009,272
|
Lead Technical Studies |
$2,874,123
|
Total |
$147,253,188
|
Below is a description of Erie County's awards:
FY 2003 Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Grant
Erie County Department of Health
The Erie County Department of Health, in collaboration with Family
Medicine Reseach Institute of the University of Buffalo, Erie County
Department of Social Services, Cortese Brothers Construction, Environmental
Education Associates, Buffalo Municipal Housing Court, Erie County
Department of Environment and Planning, Erie County Public Health
laboratory, Housing Opportuities Made Equal and Home Performance
Professionals, will be awarded $950,000
to assess 700 vacant units
of privately owned 1, 2 and 3-unit buildings, and provide interventions
in 600 of these units. The target population will be property owners
and low-income families with children identified through a
referral
agreement with the Department of Social Services. Targeted outreach
will focus on the HUD Renewal Community in the cities of Buffalo
and Lackawanna.
Operation Lead Elimination Action Program (LEAP)
Environmental Education Associates, Inc./ ENABLE
Erie County
Environmental Education Associates (EEA) will be awarded $1,892,349
to provide property owners with skills, tools, and materials required
to conduct safe and successful lead hazard control activities through
their ENABLE program
in partnership with the Erie County Department
of Health and many other private and public partners. The ENABLE
Program will empower the private sector by providing homeowners,
small multi-dwelling unit property owners, and
local contractors
with the opportunity to control lead hazards in a reasonable and
effective manner through
ENABLE's numerous training programs. ENABLE's
"Focus Group Awareness" component will be directed toward
educating a select group of policy makers in the health care, insurance
and mortgage industries toward a better understanding of lead hazard
control with the expectation that future policy will encourage the
use of lead-safe hazard control practices. The Environmental Education
Associates, Inc/ENABLE will leverage $774,941 in private sector
funds.
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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NOTE TO EDITORS: For a detailed local summary of the grants awarded today, visit: www.hud.gov/offices/lead/