The city of Milwaukee was awarded a $5.6 million grant this week from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to address lead hazards in homes throughout the city.
The grant will allow the city to complete abatement work in 320 housing units for low-income families with children, and conduct home assessments and repairs in 114 units, by 2023.
The grant will also allow the city train and hire 40 individuals to complete the abatement work.
“We should all be proud that since 2004, the number of Milwaukee children with lead poisoning has decreased by over 70%,” Mayor Tom Barrett said. “This award will help us reduce that number even further, and shows Milwaukee remains ready and able to fight lead poisoning”.
The city also plans to partner with Sixteenth Street and the Social Development Commission to share information about lead poisoning at community outreach education events.
The grant award is among more than $314 million recently awarded by HUD to 77 state and local government agencies to address lead and other home health hazards.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to continue to receive federal funding for our childhood lead poisoning prevention program,” said Dr. Jeanette Kowalik, Milwaukee health commissioner. “This new round of federal funding will be leveraged along with others to eradicate lead from our environment. Doing so will enable us to protect more children and families from the dangers of lead.”
