Detroit Receives $1M Grant To Make Homes Healthier
DETROIT (WWJ) - Mayor Dave Bing will accept a grant of nearly $1 million Wednesday to help make Detroit homes healthier and safer for children and families.
Housing and Urban Development Deputy Secretary Ron Sims will be in town to present the grant to the city.
Mary Sue Schottenfels, Executive Director of CLEARCorps Detroit, said the money will be used for a project to reduce home health hazards.
"That project allows us to interface with homes in a targeted area north of the Fisher Building, we call it the Northend-Central Woodward neighborhood, to work with families who have healthy homes issues," Schottenfels said.
The focus of this grant is to create an all-inclusive project to improve family's lives and ultimately help children with specific health concerns.
"Primarily we're looking at the home health issues that have to do with lead poisoning and asthma triggers. We know that 22 percent of Detroit children have asthma. We still have serious problems with children being lead poisoned," Schottenfels said.
"We hope to have the houses weatherized, we hope to have their lead hazards taken care of and the asthma triggers, and then any other home safety issues that we find," she continued.
Right now, the Central Woodward/Northend neighborhood of Detroit is the targeted area for resolving these home health issues.
