HUD SECRETARY VISITS CITY OF WACO TO AWARD $1.5 MILLION TO PROTECT FAMILIES FROM LEAD AND HOME HAZARDS
Funding to make low-income housing safer and healthier

WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson today presented $1.5 million to the City of Waco to protect children and families from lead-based paint and home health hazards.

Secretary Carson made the grant announcement today during an event with Waco Mayor, Kyle Deaver and city leaders. The City of Waco, a new grantee, will address lead hazards in over 140 housing units in the community to provide safer homes for very low-income families with children.

"We're proud to be here with the City of Waco and Mayor Deaver today as they take another important step towards creating safer and healthier homes for the most vulnerable families and children in their community," said HUD Secretary Ben Carson. "These grants will help the city eliminate lead-based paint and other health hazards from low-income households and ensure they live in safe and reliable homes."

These grants are provided through HUD's Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control and Lead-Based Paint and Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration grant programs to identify and clean up dangerous lead in low-income housing.

These investments will protect families and children by targeting health hazards in low-income homes with significant lead and health hazards. HUD's lead hazard control grant programs have successfully filled critical needs for remediating housing hazards, focusing on the most vulnerable residents of communities with limited local resources to address these hazards.

HUD, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services, through the Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposure (www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-12/documents/fedactionplan_lead_final.pdf), are working collaboratively to diminish childhood exposure to lead from lead-based paint and other sources.

HUD's Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes promotes local efforts to eliminate dangerous lead paint and other housing-related health hazards from lower income homes; stimulates private sector investment in lead hazard control; supports cutting-edge research on methods for assessing and controlling housing-related health and safety hazards; and educates the public about the dangers of hazards in the home.

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and https://espanol.hud.gov.

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