HUD: $3.3 million to protect families from lead, other home health & safety hazards in Niagara County

Submitted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded nearly $140 million to 36 state and local government agencies in 19 states to protect children and families from lead-based paint hazards and other home health hazards.

HUD awarded $14,414,989 in Lead Hazard Reduction Grant Program funding and $1,660,000 in Healthy Homes Supplemental funding to the Cattaraugus County Health Department, Broome County, the City of Utica, and Niagara County, totaling $16,074,989.

Read a complete project-by-project summary of the programs awarded grants here.

“Today, we are renewing our steadfast commitment to improving the lives of children and their families,” HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge said. “The funding provided today will enable communities to make the homes of families of limited means healthier, and improve their children’s school attendance rate, learning, and, eventually, job prospects.” 

HUD Regional Administrator for New York and New Jersey Alicka Ampry-Samuel said, "Lead poisoning can forever hinder a child's health and ability to learn. HUD remains dedicated to providing federal funding that ensures HUD-assisted homes are safe. These resources go to families that may not otherwise be able to do the work themselves, and HUD is proud to assist these residents in need."

HUD is providing these grants through its lead-based paint hazard reduction grant program and its new lead hazard reduction capacity building grant program to identify and clean up dangerous lead hazards and other health hazards in low-income families’ homes. These grants include more than $10 million from HUD’s healthy homes supplemental funding to help communities with housing-related health and safety hazards in addition to lead-based paint hazards. 

Matthew Ammon, director of HUD’s office of lead hazard control and healthy homes, noted, “These grants continue HUD’s commitment to sustainable communities and providing healthy and safe homes for all. We are committed to protecting families from lead-based paint hazards and other hazards in their home.” 

These investments will protect families and children by controlling significant lead and health hazards in over 3,400 low-income homes for which other resources are not available.

The lead-based paint hazard reduction grant program has two categories of competitive grants – awarding seven lead-based paint hazard control grants open to local governments and most states, and 21 lead hazard reduction demonstration grants open to local governments with large numbers of older homes, which are more likely to have lead-based paint hazards, and most states. The lead hazard reduction capacity building grant program is awarding eight smaller competitive grants to state and local governments that have not had lead hazard reduction grants, to help them develop the necessary infrastructure and capacity to undertake the larger programs in future years.

Awarding these grants contributes to HUD’s achieving its strategic objective to strengthen environmental justice by reducing exposure to health risks, environmental hazards, and substandard housing, especially for low-income households and communities of color.

Read the fiscal year 2022-26 HUD strategic plan on HUD’s website.