HUD Awards Over $9M To Detroit To Protect Families From Lead, Other Home Health Hazards
DETROIT, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded over $15.2 million across the State of Michigan including $9.7 million to the City of Detroit, the largest grant amount awarded to the top five grantees. Nationally, HUD awarded a record investment of more than $314 million to 77 state and local government agencies including more than $5 million to six tribal communities to protect children and families in low-income households from lead-based paint and home health hazards. Many of the grantees announced today will work to clean up lead hazards in Opportunity Zones.
The City of Detroit was awarded $9,100,000 in Lead Based Paint Hazard Reduction grant program funding and $600,000 in Healthy Homes Supplemental funding. The City will address lead hazards in 450 housing units providing safer homes for low and very low-income families with children. The City will also perform healthy homes assessments in 120 units, and work with other medical and social service providers.
"We are committed to improving the lives of all families, especially children, by creating safer and healthier homes," said Secretary Ben Carson. "One of HUD's priorities is protecting families from lead-based paint and other health hazards. These grants will help states, tribes, and local communities do precisely that."
Over the past 20 years, incidents of lead poisoning in Detroit among children ages six or younger have been reduced nearly 90 percent. Mayor Mike Duggan noted that while much progress has been made, there are still too many older homes in the city that pose risks.
"I am deeply appreciative to our partners at HUD for awarding Detroit its largest grant nationally to help us get into hundreds of more homes to make them safer for families. Having this funding for lead abatement will help lower-income families stay in their homes by making sure they don't have to shoulder the significant cost of lead remediation they otherwise would not be able to afford," indicated Mayor Duggan.
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