A new $1.65 million grant from Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes will bring together partners invested in healthy, safe housing, affordable housing, and child welfare, officials said.
Partners include Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department, Chattanooga Housing Authority, Habitat for Humanity, Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprises, Southeast Tennessee Human Resource Agency, University of Tennessee Extension, Chattanooga Head Start, Green Spaces, Chattanooga Community Housing Development Organization, and the Chattanooga Fire Department.
Chattanooga will receive the amount of $1,500,000 in Lead Hazard Control Grant funds and $150,000 in Healthy Home funds. This will allow the lead-based paint remediation of 75 homes at an average cost of $13,400 per unit, outreach to over 200,000 Chattanooga residents, and training for at least 50 individuals to become lead-based paint hazard control professionals.
Healthy Home assessments will be conducted in 75 homes with 40 homes receiving additional project dollars for interventions that may include plumbing, electrical, and safety repairs. This will increase the number of lead-safe and healthy homes available to Chattanooga residents and reduce the number of children who may face long-term detrimental results from exposure to lead-based paint resulting in childhood lead poisoning.
Donna Williams, administrator of the city's Economic and Community Development, said, “Lead is the single greatest environmental threat to children in America. Lead poisoning is associated with serious problems, including developmental, neurological, and cognitive disorders. The greatest tragedy is that most of these cases are preventable.
This grant will assist low-income homeowners and renters in reducing lead poisoning risks by addressing unsafe lead paint conditions that pose a potential health hazard to young children.”