Funding to Protect Low-Income Families from Lead Hazards
Alhambra, September 10, 2021 - The Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA) has been awarded $5.7 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to expand the County’s Lead Free Homes LA Program. The Federal award is part of a nationwide effort to address lead-based paint hazards and provide safer homes for low- and very low-income families with children.
The LACDA, in partnership with Los Angeles
County Department of Public Health, operates Lead Free Homes LA, intended to mitigate lead-based paint hazards in residential properties located in targeted communities. Lead-based paint may be found in older homes and is a serious health hazard for children that can cause a lifetime of negative health impacts. The Program provides for the remediation of chipping and peeling lead-based paint in the interior and exterior of homes and other related repairs to remove lead hazards and protect the health of Los Angeles families.With the additional $5.7 million, Lead Free Homes LA will expand to include multi-family properties in targeted communities located in the 1st and 2nd Supervisorial Districts that are overburdened with environmental hazards, and where there is an older deteriorated housing stock, a prevalence of low-income families, and a significant population of young children.
These new funds expand the reach of the Program to protect an additional 150 low-income families residing in properties with five or more units for which other resources are not available to remedy the dangers of lead-based paint. The LACDA will further its efforts to comprehensively identify and address housing hazards that affect occupant health and safety in multi-family properties.
“One of my top priorities in public service has been to fight for families who have been directly impacted by the detrimental effects of lead poisoning. I have seen it with my own eyes, and I have met with families caring for their sick children,” shared Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda L. Solis, Supervisor to the First District. “Residents in my district have silently endured environmental injustices for decades. And while we have done much to help these families, the tremendous scope of the damage on our families, our neighborhoods, and our homes caused by polluters means that our work is very far from complete. This funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will help to ensure as many families as possible benefit from the County’s Lead Free Homes LA Program and receive free remediation services. We are committed in helping our residents combat lead poisoning.”
“This funding is critical in strengthening the impact of the County’s Lead Free Homes LA Program. Lead-based paint in older buildings is the most common source of lead poisoning in children,” shared Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell. “I am proud to support LACDA and the Department of Public Health in raising awareness of Lead Free Homes LA to help to protect our most vulnerable residents who face daily exposure to lead poisoning.”
“We are honored to receive this grant from HUD and to partner with the Department of Public Health on the Lead Free Homes LA Program,” said LACDA Executive Director Emilio Salas. “Through our partnership, we can work together to decrease negative health outcomes among persons with limited means, especially children and pregnant women, that are directly attributed to lead-based paint hazards.”
The Lead Free Homes LA Program will continue to decrease the greatest source of lead poisoning in our County with these HUD funds, strengthening our collaborative mission to protect and improve the health and well-being of Los Angeles County residents. For more information on the Program, please visit http://www.leadfreehomesla.com
For more information on the LACDA’s programs, please view the agency’s brochure, LACDA Connected.
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