HUD Archives: News Releases


HUD No. 09-163
Brian Sullivan
(202) 708-0685
For Release
Wednesday
September 30, 2009

HUD ANNOUNCES $118 MILLION IN GRANTS TO PROTECT THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN FROM LEAD AND OTHER HOME HEALTH HAZARDS
Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government Awarded $2,724,823
Funding helps to make low-income housing safer and healthier

LOUISVILLE - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is awarding more than $118 million in grants to 46 local projects to conduct a wide range of activities that include eliminating lead hazards in more than 9,000 homes; training workers in lead safety methods; increasing public awareness about childhood lead poisoning; and evaluating outreach on controlling housing-based hazards. The awards were announced by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan yesterday at the Council on Foundations conference in San Antonio, Texas. Lead is a known toxin that can impair children's development and have effects lasting into adulthood and other materials in the home can trigger allergic responses and asthma.

"To grow up healthy, children need to live in healthy homes," said Secretary Donovan. "HUD is helping communities around the nation protect children from lead poisoning as part of HUD's effort to help make the nation's housing healthy, green, energy efficient and sustainable."

HUD is awarding grants in the following programs:

Grant Program Funding Awarded
Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control $69,034,591
Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Grant Program $48,000,000
Lead Outreach Grants $1,184,386
Healthy Homes Technical Studies Grants $326,962
Total $118,545,939

Kentucky's Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government will receive $2,724,823 for the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Program.

Through these four grant programs, HUD's Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control promotes local efforts to eliminate dangerous lead hazards from lower income homes; stimulates private sector investment in lead hazard control; and educates the public about the dangers of lead-based paint and other housing hazards. A complete project-by-project summary of the programs awarded grants today can be found on HUD's website.

Even though lead-based paint was banned for use in the home in 1978, HUD estimates that 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.

The funding announced today includes more than $117 million to cities, counties and states to eliminate dangerous lead paint hazards in thousands of privately owned, low-income housing units. HUD will also award almost $1.2 million in Lead Outreach grants for public education campaigns on what parents, building owners and others can do to protect children. Finally, HUD will award nearly $327,000 in a Healthy Homes Technical Studies grant to improve understanding of housing-related factors that affect the health of children in housing.

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov. You can also follow HUD on twitter @HUDnews, on facebook at www.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD's News Listserv.

 

 
Content Archived: July 31, 2015