JACKSON ANNOUNCES $118 MILLION IN GRANTS TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM DANGEROUS LEAD AND OTHER HOME HEALTH AND SAFETY HAZARDS
Over $5 million awarded to Tennessee recipients

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 Tennessee, Shelby County will be awarded $2,998,886 to make 251 units lead-safe, expand the pool of
contractors who are knowledgeable and licensed to perform lead hazard control activities, perform blood lead level tests on children under six, and increase awareness of the hazards of lead-based paint. The program will partner
with local organizations to provide safer housing options for the residents of Shelby County.

Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro will be awarded $1,999,826 to produce 156 lead safe homes, through its Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. Tennessee LEAP (TN LEAP) has developed partnerships to identify, assess, and develop specifications and contracts to make lead-safe pre-1978 Tennessee homes. The grant will leverage additional private funds to increase the total amount of funds that are available for the lead hazard control program.

LeBonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis will be awarded $250,332 to provide community-based education on lead poisoning prevention in Memphis and 20 western counties of the State in partnership with City of Memphis, Shelby County Health Department, and Middle Tennessee State University. The Hospital will provide lead information to the Mid-South's most medically underserved children.

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:

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

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

*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
  LOR - Lead Outreach Grant Program
  LHRD - Lead Based Paint Hazard Reduction Demonstration Grant Program