HUD No. 06-118OH Brian Sullivan (202) 708-0685 |
For
Release Thursday September 21, 2006 |
JACKSON ANNOUNCES $118 MILLION IN GRANTS TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM DANGEROUS LEAD AND OTHER HOME HEALTH AND SAFETY HAZARDS
Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Mahoning County and Cincinnati grantees receive almost $8 million
WASHINGTON - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson today awarded more than $118 million
in grants to dozens of state and local communities, public health organizations and scientific research institutions to better protect children and families from dangerous lead-based paint and other home health and safety hazards.
In addition, HUD is making available another $39 million in funding to clean up lead hazards in communities with the greatest need, specifically cities with a high incidence of lead poisoning and older homes. To facilitate the greatest number of applicants for these grants, HUD will be aggressively promoting the Department's Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Grant Program to mayors and county officials of every eligible jurisdiction across the country.
"Today, we take another step closer toward ending childhood lead poisoning and making our homes safer and
healthier places in which to raise our children," said Jackson. "While we've made great progress in reducing lead poisoning, we cannot rest until we banish this preventable disease to the history books."
The following is a breakdown of the funding announced today:
Program |
Award Amount |
Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control in Privately Owned Housing |
$81,653,722 |
Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Grant Program |
$20,535,349 |
Operation Lead Elimination Action Program (LEAP) |
$5,999,823 |
Lead Technical Studies Grants |
$2,778,130 |
Lead Outreach Grants |
$2,000,000 |
Healthy Homes Demonstration Grants |
$3,760,259 |
Healthy Homes Technical Studies Grants | $1,570,120 |
Total |
$118,297,403 |
HUD grants will help 63 state and local projects around the country to 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 and other hazards from lower income homes; stimulates private sector investment in lead hazard control; educates the public about the dangers of lead-based paint; and supports scientific research into innovative methods to identify and eliminate health hazards in housing.
Lead Hazard Control Grant Programs
The funding announced today includes $102 million 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 the Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration grant programs. In addition, HUD's Operation LEAP (Lead Elimination Action Program) will provide nearly $6 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 million in Lead Outreach grants for public education campaigns on what parents, building owners and others can do to protect children. Further, nearly $2.8 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 these and other childhood diseases and injuries in the home by taking a holistic approach, and approaches housing-related hazards in a coordinated fashion, rather than addressing a single hazard at a time.
The funding announced today includes nearly $3.8 million in demonstration grants to identify and eliminate housing conditions that contribute to children's disease and injury, such as asthma, mold exposure, and carbon monoxide contamination. HUD is also investing more than $1.5 million to support scientific research into new ways of identifying and eliminating health hazards in housing.
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, and enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet and espanol.hud.gov. For more information about FHA products, please visit www.fha.gov.
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Ohio recipients include:
Grantee |
Program * |
Amount |
City of Cleveland The City of Cleveland Department of Health will be awarded $4,000,000 in federal funds to conduct lead hazard control interventions in 333 private housing units for low-or very low income families with children under the age of six. The Cleveland Department of Health and the Cuyahoga County Board of Health are combining resources to effectively protect the children throughout Cuyahoga County from lead poisoning in order to eliminating the disease by the end of the decade. Contact: Jonathon Brandt, Project Director (216) 664-4939.
|
LHRD |
$4,000,000 |
Cuyahoga County Board of Health Cuyahoga County Board of Health (CCBH) will be awarded $1,000,000 in federal funds to partner with existing Weatherization Programs, managed by the Cleveland Housing Network and the Cuyahoga County Department of Development, in order to provide an integrated approach to asthma trigger reduction. The families will be very-low income and will qualify for Weatherization assistance as well as lead hazard control. Lead interventions will be conducted in conjunction with Cleveland and Cuyahoga Counties Lead Hazard Reduction Programs. Contact: John Sobolewski, Supervisor of Healthy Homes Programs (216)-201-2001 x1515.
|
HHD |
$1,000,000 |
Mahoning Valley Real Estate Investors Associations Mahoning Valley Real Estate Investors Association, Inc. will be awarded $2,000,000 in federal funds to that will be used to leverage an additional $4,000,000 in private resources. These resources will be used to produce 160 lead safe housing units throughout Mahoning County and the City of Youngstown, Ohio. The Operation LEAP (Lead Elimination Action Program) grant will involve a cross section of community leaders, business leaders, lead paint experts, property owners, community developers, and other innovative partners with the common goal of eliminating childhood lead poisoning by 2010. Contact: Gary Singer, Program Manager (330) 565-1942.
|
LEAP |
$2,000,000 |
University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati will be awarded $400,000 in federal funds to conduct field testing of a new instrument, previously developed with HUD funding, that collects samples of mold and other biological contaminants from building surfaces for testing. These contaminants are important triggers for asthma and allergies. The grantee will work with researchers from Tulane University and local community-based organizations to collect samples from previously flooded homes in New Orleans. This project will help to improve upon current methods for collecting dust for mold and other contaminants in house dust. Results will be shared with residents who will also be provided with assistance in getting help to address any mold and moisture hazards that are identified. Contact: Tana Housh, Director, Sponsored Research Services (513) 558-1755.
|
HHTS |
$400,000 |
University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati will be awarded $420,600 in federal funds to supplement current research on the longevity of effectiveness of interim soil lead controls by measuring inside and outside dust loading levels at the house. The grantee will also assess the level of soil lead in the dust inside the home after interim hazard controls. The study will help evaluate the effectiveness of interim control of lead in soil hazards for periods longer than three years, which have already been evaluated. This will help professionals select interim control methods to reduce/eliminate soil as a lead exposure source. Contact Tana Housh, Director, Sponsored Research Services (513) 558-1755.
|
LTS |
$420,600 |
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine will be awarded $78,977 in federal funds to use data acquired from a previous dust wipe X-ray fluorescence (XRF) study to evaluate the effects of other elements on the accuracy of XRF readings for lead. The original study used National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standard dust samples whose components other than lead are well characterized. The lead amounts have already been measured by NIST, the XRF analyzer, and flame atomic absorption. This study will evaluate an additional 15 metals that were measured by NIST and the XRF. The results of this twelve-month study will be useful for XRF analysis of dust wipes in homes after hazard control projects. Contact: Tana Housh, Director, Sponsored Research Services (513) 558-1755. |
LTS |
$78,977 |
* LHC - Lead Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program
HHD - Healthy Homes Demonstration Grant Program
HHTS - Healthy Homes Technical Studies Grant Program
LTS - Lead Technical Studies Grant Program
LEAP - Operation Lead Elimination Action Grant Program
LHRD - Lead Based Paint Hazard Reduction Demonstration Grant Program
NOTE: A state-by-state breakdown of the funding announced today and complete individual project summaries are available on HUD's website.
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