HUD ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $2.2 MILLION TO PROTECT SPOKANE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES FROM DANGEROUS LEAD AND OTHER HOME HAZARDS
Funding builds on remarkable success of HUD programs in healthy housing

SPOKANE - Lower income children and families in Spokane will live in healthier homes because of a $2,290,954 grant announced by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson (see grant summary below). The grant
is part of nearly $168 million awarded around the nation to help local communities to conduct a wide range of activities to improve the conditions of families living in lower income housing, including:

• 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.

"Every family deserves a safe and healthy home to raise their children," said Jackson. "The funding we announce today will help protect children from dangerous lead, fund important research into healthier housing and will create other public and private investment to improve the living conditions of thousands of homes."

Lead Hazard Control Grant Programs

The City of Spokane will be awarded $2,290,954 to fund comprehensive services including community education, outreach marketing to low-income families, blood-lead testing, lead inspection/Risk Assessment, contractor certification, and effective lead hazard repairs. The Lead Safe Spokane program will be built upon the lead hazard reduction capacity developed by the City of Spokane Single Family Rehabilitation program. Spokane will add lead hazard reduction capacity by expanding existing contracts for Risk Assessment, clearance testing, and contractor training. This program's target area encompasses over 38,675 pre-1978 and 17,000 pre-1940 housing units. Over 12,000 low-income families reside in the target area. Fifty-seven percent of the City's children younger than 6 years and 78 percent of the City's children under age 6 living in poverty live within this target area. The target area also contains 45 nonprofit owned low-income housing units with defective paint on the program waiting list, 300 child-occupied pre-1978 Section 8 assisted rental units with identified defective paint, and 42 child occupied pre-1978 rental units denied Section 8 assistance due to unmitigated lead-based paint. Program partners include Kiemle & Hagood, SNAP, Community Health Association of Spokane, Spokane County Regional Health District, MCS Environmental. The City of Spokane will provide $579,912 in local matching funds. Contact: Jack Lynch, Deputy
Mayor (509) 625-6250.

HUD's lead hazard control program has a remarkable track record. Since the program began in 1990, more than 26 million fewer homes have lead-based paint. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the
number of lead-poisoned children in the U.S. declined by half in the past decade. Today, HUD's program is active in over 115 communities, helping to clean up lead hazards in low-income, privately owned 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 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.

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