HUD Presents UG with Over $3.9M to Protect Families Against Lead

Published on January 17, 2023

HUD Group Photo 2023

Unified Government Receives More Than $3.9 Million Housing and Urban Development Grant to Protect Families in Kansas City, Kansas from Lead and Other Household Safety Hazards

Even though lead-based paint was phased out in 1978, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that 38 million housing units (more than 40% of all housing units in the U.S.) contain some lead-based paint that was applied before the ban.

Fortunately for people who live in Kansas City, Kansas, HUD has just awarded the Unified Government (UG) a grant of more than $3.9 million, which will be used to remediate lead paint and other health hazards in area homes.

HUD Regional Administrator Ulysses Clayborn presented a check for the grant money to Unified Government Mayor/CEO Tyrone A. Garner and Unified Government Public Health (UGPHD) Director Juliann Van Liew at a ceremony last week.

HUD is providing the UG $3,420,348 through its Lead Based Paint Hazard Reduction Grant Program to identify and clean up dangerous lead in low-income families’ older homes. The award also includes more than $510,000 from HUD’s Healthy Homes Supplemental funding to help communities address homes with housing-related health and safety hazards in addition to lead-based paint hazards. Altogether, the UG received $3,930,348 between the two programs.

“Sadly, even though lead was in fact banned many years ago in residential housing, its legacy remains,” said Regional Administrator Clayborn in his remarks. “With today’s funding from HUD, the Unified Government will be able to continue its ongoing work with medical and social service providers to substantively address lead and other health hazards.”

Many factors that affect the health and quality of life for Wyandotte County residents also put them at greater risk for lead exposure. For example, 25% of children in Wyandotte County live in poverty, compared to 13% of children overall in Kansas. This means a greater percentage of children in Wyandotte County are more likely to live in older, more poorly maintained buildings that could likely contain lead-based paint, increasing their risk of lead exposure.

Lead is a health concern for everyone in the community, but especially for children. Children can be exposed to lead in a variety of ways, such as through breathing or eating lead dust from lead paint, consuming water from certain water pipes in older buildings, or through lead-contaminated soil while playing outside. When lead is absorbed into the body, it can damage the brain and other vital organs such as the kidneys, nerves and blood. There has been no safe blood lead level identified for children, and even low levels of lead in the blood can cause developmental delays, difficulty learning, behavioral issues, and neurological damage. Severe lead poisoning can even be deadly.  Some symptoms of lead poisoning may include headaches, stomachaches, nausea, tiredness and irritability. In many cases, there are no obvious symptoms until levels of lead in the blood get very high.

“I sincerely thank the Department of Housing and Urban Development for this grant and investment in Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas,” said Mayor/CEO Tyrone A. Garner. “This grant will allow the Unified Government to address areas that have been historically disinvested and disenfranchised. With a poverty rate of 20%, we will be able to provide equitable resources and craft solutions to improve the lives of those otherwise unable to address the negative impacts caused by lead in our communities.”

“These investments will help us better protect families and children in our community from health issues caused by lead exposures,” said Director Juliann Van Liew. “The Health Department will use this grant to remediate lead paint and other health hazards in an estimated 85 homes in Kansas City, Kansas. Our efforts will focus on homes with young children and with risk factors for lead exposure, like older housing in neighborhoods with higher rates of poverty. We will announce more details on the program later this year.”

Using this HUD funding, the UGPHD will identify homes built before 1978 where children under 6 years old live and provide lead-based paint testing, cost-effective lead hazard control and Healthy Homes inspections and remediation of other identified safety hazards. The UGPHD will prioritize homes with young children or pregnant women who have had a confirmed Elevated Blood Lead Level.

In addition, UGPHD will train staff to build capacity to address lead hazards in the community and undertake targeted outreach and education for rental property owners and tenants about lead poisoning and prevention.

More details on the program will be available in the coming months.

Learn more about lead poisoning, sources of lead exposure, testing children for lead poisoning, and other lead information at https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/default.htm.