GOSHEN —
The fight against lead poisoning in Elkhart County got a boost Monday morning with the announcement that the county has been awarded a $2.4 million lead grant through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
John Hall, director of Indiana’s Housing and Urban Development (HUD) office, made a stop at the County Administration Building in Goshen Monday morning where he joined the Elkhart County Board of Commissioners and representatives of the Elkhart County Lead Hazard Control Program in a brief press conference and ceremonial check presentation.
The grant, which will be used to protect children and their families from potentially harmful lead-based paint hazards in their homes, is the second such award the county has received in three years. In 2009, Elkhart County was awarded $3 million from HUD to address lead hazards in nearly 200 homes.
“There’s been a lot of progress made, but I think our partners that are working on this project understand that any impact on children six and under with lead-based paint can change their whole lives,” said Hall of the continued importance of addressing lead hazards within the county. “I wanted to be here just to say thanks for the work that all of you do to make the quality of life better for those individuals here in Elkhart County that need this kind of attention.”
According to Kristine Krueger, grant procurement specialist for the county, this new HUD grant will allow the county to tackle at least another 140 homes while also funding a new Healthy Homes component, which will look at addressing other heath hazards within the home such as mold and other toxins.
“We ended the previous grant with a wait list, and we currently have a huge waiting list. So there are definitely people interested in taking advantage of this program,” Krueger said. “Through the program, qualified houses, meaning homes that have lead hazards, can come to the program and we can assist with the cost of addressing those hazards. There is usually a 10 percent match, and then we contact the contractors who specialize in these types of projects.”
Krueger said cost is usually one of the biggest detractors when it comes to individuals taking care of lead-based hazards on their own, as it is typically quite expensive.
“Those types of renovations are costly, especially in a down economy like we’ve been in for the past couple of years,” Krueger said. “I think that’s why it was so well received the first time around, because we were right in the middle of that. And we’re still recovering from that now. So we still have a lot of interest.”
According to Carrie Brunson, director of the Lead Hazard Control Program, the county currently deals with a case load of about 100 lead poisoning cases a year. That figure, she says, is due primarily to the large number of homes in the county built prior to 1978, when the use of lead-based paints in homes was banned.
“Any home built prior to 1978 has the potential to have lead-based paint present, and that potential rises significantly for homes that were built pre-1920s,” Brunson said. “We figured out that about 40,000 homes in the county were constructed pre-1978, so there’s quite a bit of potential for lead issues out there. We’re trying to prevent poisoning from ever happening, so most of the time the cases we take involve either vacant homes or homes with children present.”
Anyone interested in taking advantage of the new lead abatement program can contact Brunson at 574-875-3391 to find out if they qualify. Brunson can also be reached via email at crussell@elkhartcounty.com.
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Related Photos
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Members of the Elkhart County Board of Commissioners joined with representatives of the Elkhart County Lead Hazard Control Program in Goshen Monday morning to accept a $2.4 million lead abatement grant provided through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Pictured, from left, are: Elkhart County Health Officer Dr. Daniel Nafziger; Commissioner Terry Rodino; Commissioner Mike Yoder; Commissioner Frank Lucchese; and Indiana HUD Field Office Director John Hall. JOHN KLINE
ELKHART COUNTY COMMISSIONERS: HUD grant aimed at lead hazards
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