ST. LOUIS — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded $2.52 million to the city of St. Louis for use in programs to protect children and families from lead-based paint and home health hazards.
The funding, announced Sept. 25, was included in the more than $163 million awarded to 44 state and local government agencies in 23 states.
The grant made to the city of St. Louis is from HUD's Lead Based Paint Hazard Reduction (LBPHR) Grant Program. The city will use the funding to address lead hazards in 210 housing units and will be working with other medical and social service providers, officials said.
In addition to the LBPHR program, intended to identify and clean up dangerous lead in low-income families’ homes, the federal grants awarded included more than $17 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.
Agency officials said the funding will target significant lead and health hazards in more than 14,000 low-income homes for which other resources are not available.
“Across the region, these grants are critical to protect families from lead-based paint and ensure that children have every opportunity for healthy development,” HUD Great Plains Regional Administrator Jason Mohr said in a statement.
