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Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dale E. Kildee (D-MI) announced today that Saginaw County would receive $3 million to conduct lead hazard control activities that will remediate 240 housing units. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded this grant to Saginaw County to improve the safety of housing and protect the health of local residents. Congressman Kildee supported the grant application that the Saginaw County Department of Public Health submitted to HUD.
“This grant will help protect our children’s health by improving the quality and safety of some of the older houses in Saginaw County,” said Kildee. “Hundreds of thousands of children across this country needlessly suffer from the negative side effects of lead poisoning. We must continue to work together to increase blood lead testing in Michigan and eliminate unhealthy environments with high levels of lead because they pose a serious threat to our children’s health and development.”
Many children in Saginaw County are at high risk of being exposed to lead poisoning because some of the housing is unsafe and old. In the target area, 3.8% of children under 6 years old have Elevated Blood Lead Levels. Nearly 97% of the houses in this target area were built prior to 1980, which is when lead paint finally became illegal because it posed a serious health risk to children and pregnant women. As a result, children in this area are predisposed to blood lead poising and the negative effects caused by this disease.
Saginaw County has partnered with county and local agencies, parent groups, grassroots organizations, faith-based, and community-based organizations and private industry to conduct their direct and indirect lead hazard control activities and leverage their potential HUD award funds. The $3 million HUD grant will be used to conduct lead hazard control activities over the course of 42 months. In addition to this grant, Saginaw County will provide $348,789 in matching funds for these activities. |
