Funding Available to Mitigate Lead Poisoning Risks

July 6, 2017

New Hampshire Housing received $2.9 million HUD grant for lead abatement risk assessments, remediation and education –

With more than 250,000 housing units statewide containing lead hazards, some New Hampshire renters and homeowners face significant risk of lead poisoning. To help mitigate these risks, New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority will distribute $2.9 million that was recently awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to remediate lead-based paint and implement healthy homes interventions.

“Lead has no geographic or income boundaries,” said Gloria Paradise, the director of Housing Grant Programs at New Hampshire Housing. “If you live in a pre-1978 home, you could be at risk.”

In 2017, the State of New Hampshire’s Office of Healthy Homes & Lead Poisoning Prevention Program documented more than 660 children who had been poisoned by lead. Children under the age of six and pregnant women who live in housing that was built before 1978 are at a higher risk of becoming lead poisoned, which can result in permanent damage to the brain and nervous system, developmental delays, and behavior and learning problems.

“This grant from HUD will allow us to provide property owners with resources to make their housing safe for families, as well as to collaborate with community agencies on education, prevention and mitigation efforts about lead hazards,” said Dean Christon, executive director of New Hampshire Housing.

This is the fifth such grant that New Hampshire Housing has received from HUD, for a total of $14.7 million. NHHFA’s match investment totals $4.5 million. To date, NHHFA has remediated nearly 1,400 units and made them lead safe. The new grant will be used to address issues in an additional 190 units.

The program is available to owner-occupied and rental housing for low- and moderate income families, prioritizing units with children under the age of six who are the most vulnerable. Applications for the new grant will be accepted in the fall. Information about the Lead Hazard Control Program is at NHHFA/lead-hazard-control.