The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced it has awarded $27.8 million to 38 public housing agencies in 25 states to identify and reduce lead-based paint hazards in thousands of older public housing units.
Provided through HUD’s Public Housing Capital Fund, these grants will be targeted to approximately 2,800 public housing units, most of which are currently occupied by families with young children.
“We have no higher calling than to make certain the public housing that taxpayers support is healthy for our vulnerable families to live in,” HUD Secretary Ben Carson said in a news release. “As a doctor who treated many young children, I witnessed the close connection between health and housing. Today we make another critical investment in the futures of young children growing up in public housing.”
Although lead-based paint was banned for residential use in 1978, HUD estimates that about 24 million older homes still have significant lead-based paint hazards today. However, homes receiving rental assistance, including public housing, tend to have a lower prevalence of lead-based paint hazards compared to private housing, HUD officials said.
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