HUD ANNOUNCES $1.6 MILLION TO PROTECT CHILDREN IN ROCHESTER FROM DANGEROUS LEAD IN THE HOME
Funding will clean up 100 low-income homes

ROCHESTER, NY - At least 100 homes in Rochester will become healthier places to raise children due to $1,606,710 awarded today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD's grant is designed to help Rochester to identify and clean up potentially dangerous lead-based paint hazards in older privately owned low-income housing. The funding is part of nearly $150 million awarded nationwide and a total of $15.6 million in New York State this year.

"This is an investment in our children's futures," said HUD Deputy Secretary Roy A. Bernardi. "As public servants, we have no greater responsibility than to leave our kids a world that is better than what our parents gave us. We can help do that by making sure that the tragedy of lead poisoning will be resigned to history books."

Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy said, "This continues to be a huge priority. We have to do everything in our power to stay aggressive and combat lead poisoning in Rochester homes to keep our children safe. I want to thank HUD for their ongoing support. This money is going to go a long way to help us continue fighting lead poisoning."

HUD's grant to Rochester is provided through the Department's Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control (LBPHC) grant program. LBPHC grants assist states, Native American Tribes and local governments in undertaking comprehensive programs to identify and control lead-based paint hazards in eligible privately owned rental housing. This program is the largest federal program designed to clean up potentially dangerous lead in housing, and represents a significant effort to address the Presidential goal to eliminate childhood lead poisoning by 2010.

While lead-based paint was banned for use in the home in 1978, HUD estimates approximately 24 million homes still have significant lead-based paint hazards today. Lead-contaminated dust is the primary cause of lead exposure and can lead to a variety of health problems in young children including reduced IQ, learning disabilities, developmental delays, reduced height, and impaired hearing. At higher levels, lead can damage a child's kidneys and central nervous system and cause anemia, coma, convulsions and even death.

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FY 2007 Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control Grant Awards

NEW YORK

The City of Rochester will be awarded $1,606,710 to expand its current lead hazard control program. One hundred housing low-income units will be made lead safe, with 25 of them being owner-occupied. The City's primary prevention program will focus on housing in some of Rochester's most distressed neighborhoods. The City will continue to work with its partners, the Housing Council and Action for a Better Community, to provide education and provide intake for applicants within the City. Contact: Conrad Floss, Senior Community Housing Planner, (585) 428-6820.