The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, is awarding $7.8 million in grants to 14 local projects in nine states to conduct a wide range of activities such as research on the cost effectiveness of home-based interventions for children with asthma and novel strategies for reducing risks from lead-contaminated soil and house dust.
For the first time, HUD is awarding $2 million of those grants to improve indoor environmental conditions and links to education and medical services for asthmatic children and other residents living in public and assisted multifamily housing.
Lead is a known toxin that can impair children’s development and have effects lasting into adulthood. It’s estimated that asthma alone costs the U.S. economy approximately $3.5 billion each year. Approximately 16.4 million Americans currently have asthma, including nearly seven million children 18 years of age and younger.
The following is a state-by-state breakdown of the funding
| State | Grantee | Program* | Amount |
| Illinois | University of Illinois-Chicago | HHTS | $896,967 |
| University of Illinois-Chicago | LTS | $499,999 | |
| Sinai Health System | AIPAMH | $549,000 | |
| Louisiana | Tulane University | HHTS | $942,465 |
| Massachusetts | Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health | HHTS | $949,071 |
| Harvard College | HHTS | $942,788 | |
| Univ. of Massachusetts, Lowell | AIPAMH | $424,986 | |
| Minnesota | American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest | AIPAMH | $538,000 |
| New Jersey | SIROM Scientific Solutions, LLC | LTS | $499,694 |
| New York | The New York Academy of Medicine | AIPAMH | $549,000 |
| Ohio | University of Cincinnati | HHTS | $268,709 |
| Rhode Island | The Providence Plan | LTS | $298,000 |
| Texas | The University of Texas at Arlington | LTS | $498,138 |
Grant programs and funding amounts:
AIPAMH – Asthma Interventions in Public and Assisted Multifamily Housing $4,000,000
HHTS – Healthy Homes Technical Studies $1,795,831
LTS – Lead Technical Studies $2,060,986
Through these three programs, HUD’s Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control supports research to eliminate dangerous lead and other key housing-related hazards from lower income homes, improves our knowledge of the benefits of green construction and maintenance practices for low income housing and stimulates the implementation and evaluation of housing management practices to improve the health of asthmatic children and the quality of life of their caregivers.
Even though lead-based paint was banned for use in the home in 1978, HUD estimates that approximately 24 million homes still have significant lead-based paint hazards today.
Lead-contaminated dust is the primary cause of lead exposure and can lead to a variety of health problems in young children, including:
- reduced IQ
- learning disabilities
- developmental delays
- reduced height and impaired hearing
At higher levels, lead can damage a child’s:
- Kidneys
- central nervous system
- Can cause anemia, coma, convulsions and even death.
Lead is not the only danger threatening families and children in the home. Asthma is now recognized as a leading cause of school and work absences, emergency room visits and hospitalizations that disproportionately impacts low income, minority populations.
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