Funding to make low-income housing safer and healthier

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development today awarded nearly $127 million in grants to 48 local projects to conduct a wide range of activities intended to protect children and families from potentially dangerous lead-based paint and other home health and safety hazards (see chart below). 

The grant funding announced today will clean up lead and other health hazards in more than 11,000 homes, train workers in lead safety methods, and increase public awareness about childhood lead poisoning.  Lead is a known toxin that can impair children’s development and have effects lasting into adulthood.  Other materials in the home can trigger allergic responses and asthma.

“Protecting the health, and indeed the futures, of our children is a top priority for HUD. We cannot allow children to be poisoned in their own homes,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.  “These grants will help communities around the nation to protect families from lead exposure and other significant health and safety hazards.”

HUD Deputy Secretary Ron Sims added: “With these grant awards, HUD makes it clear that providing healthy and safe homes for families and children is a priority.  It’s simple: you can’t be healthy if your home is sick.  There are far too many ‘sick homes’ in our communities, and these funds will target the worst of those homes.  HUD is committed to protecting children from these hazards, as part of the Department’s effort to help make the nation’s housing healthy and sustainable.”