ERIE AND CHAUTAUQUA COUNTIES RECEIVE OVER $5 MILLION TO COMBAT LEAD-BASED PAINT POISONING
Secretary Jackson announces $139 million to the nation's cities

BUFFALO - As part of $139 million in grants announced last week by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson, Erie County will receive $3.5 million and Chautauqua County $2.1 million to reduce lead-based
paint hazards in the most high-risk neighborhoods. Nationally, the grants will help 62 local projects around the
country conduct a wide range of activities including cleaning up lead-based paint hazards and improving living conditions of lower income families.

Through seven grant programs, HUD's Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control promotes local efforts to eliminate dangerous lead from lower income homes; stimulates private sector investment in lead hazard control; educates the public about the dangers of lead-based paint; funds model programs that promote healthier and safer home environments; and, supports scientific research into innovative methods to identify and eliminate health
hazards in housing.

"Families need a safe and healthy home to raise their kids," said Jackson. "The funding we announced supports programs that protect children from a variety of health and safety hazards and represents another step toward
ending childhood lead poisoning once and for all."

Lead Hazard Control Grant Programs

The funding includes nearly $123 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 $4 million to encourage private sector contributions that will enable children to grow up in
homes that are free from lead-based paint hazards. HUD will also award $2.3 million in Lead Outreach grants for
public education campaigns on what parents, building owners and others can do to protect children. Further, nearly $1.7 million will assist research to study methods to reduce the cost and increase the effectiveness of lead hazard control strategies.

Healthy Homes Initiative

A variety of preventable health and safety hazards threaten children every year. For example, excessive dust or moisture in the home can trigger asthma. Injuries from scalding, electrical shock or carbon monoxide poisoning can easily be prevented with modest home repairs. HUD's Healthy Homes Initiative addresses a multiple of these and
other childhood diseases and injuries in the home by taking a holistic approach and addresses housing-related
hazards in a coordinated fashion, rather than addressing a single hazard at a time.

The funding includes nearly $6 million in demonstration grants to 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 investing more than $2.5 million to support scientific research into new ways of
identifying and eliminating health hazards in housing.

The following is a breakdown of the announced funding:

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and 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 and espanol.hud.gov.

NOTE: Complete individual project summaries are available on HUD's website.

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Lead-Based Funding to Erie and Chautauqua Counties

The County of Erie will be awarded $3,000,000 to conduct risk assessments and lead inspections on 400 eligible housing units and to clear 200 units of identified lead-based paint hazards throughout nine target areas identified
by zip code in the County. The County's "Leadsafe Erie County" program will also target the HUD RC/EC/EZ zones
in portions of Lackawanna and the City of Buffalo. The LEADSAFE Erie County project will include partnerships with
the Belmont Shelter Corporation, the Independent Health Foundation, Inc., Environmental Education Associates,
the Black Leadership Forum Near East Side Community Health Task Force, The Home Depot, Glidden/ICI Paints,
Family Medicine Research Institute, Buffalo Municipal Housing Court, the New York State Department of Health,
and Catholic Charities. The County will contribute over $924,562 in matching and/or contributions. Contact: Ms. Melanie Desiderio, Erie County Department of Health, Environmental Health at 716-961-6800.

The County of Erie will also be awarded $500,000 to enroll 150 privately owned housing units into local lead hazard treatment programs called "Lead Connections" or "LEADSAFE Erie County," in an effort to protect vulnerable children from lead poisoning. To accomplish this goal, "LEADSAFE Outreach" will conduct fifteen (15) community events, hold forty (40) 'Recruitment Receptions' at selected access points in the target area, perform three hundred (300) home visits with low-income families/parents of children under six years of age 150 units, and conduct numerous
community events. The County will provide $258,274 in matching and/or contributions. Contact: Ms. Melanie Desiderio, Erie County Department of Health, Environmental Health at 716-961-6800.

The County of Chautauqua will be awarded $2,196,257 to produce 175 lead-safe housing units through the Chautauqua County Health Department, focusing primarily within the City of Jamestown Renewal Community. The
175 treated homes will protect 98 children from lead hazard conditions. The central strategy for the plan is to eliminate LBP poisoning of children, create lead safe places for children to live and create a climate where testing
and appropriate follow-up will be routine, as well as provide education and outreach to approximately 108 tenant families. Chautauqua County will provide $421,133 in matching and/or contributions. Contact: Chautauqua Rehabilitation and Improvement Corporation (CHRIC) at 716-858-6963.