Alabama and 29 other states are set to receive a share of $104.7 million in Healthy Homes Production Grant Program funds awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) and the University of Alabama were recently awarded $2 million from HUD Healthy Homes Production Grant to remove environmental and safety hazards from some of Alabama’s vulnerable and underserved communities. The University of Alabama SafeState Program and the Alabama Life Research Institute will help manage the $2 million grant award and remediation activities.
According to a press release, the Healthy Homes and Healthy Communities in the Black Belt Region of Alabama program will target approximately 150 low-income homes in counties that make up a portion of the Black Belt region of the state.
The program will identify and provide solutions for environmental hazards like indoor air quality, mold, and moisture, pests, carbon monoxide, lead-based paint, asbestos, and radon. Families who qualify will receive a no-cost assessment to evaluate potential hazards and coordinate the improvement of the home, prioritizing environmental and safety hazards.
The ADPH and the University of Alabama are establishing the application process for qualifying families.
“This program not only allows us to identify health and safety issues in these underserved communities, but it also gives us the resources to solve some of the problems. Qualifying participants can receive up to $10,000 for repairs designed to reduce or eliminate identified hazards,” stated Michael Rasbury, Director of the UA SafeState Environmental Programs.
Public events will be scheduled and take place throughout the affected counties to reach qualifying families and bring awareness to the program. A kickoff event is being planned for March 23 at the University of Alabama.
Goals and objectives for all applicants receiving a Healthy Homes Production Award will be to:
- Maximize both the number of vulnerable residents protected from housing-related environmental health and safety hazards and the number of housing units where these hazards are controlled.
- Identify and remediate housing-related health and safety hazards in privately owned, low-income rental and/or owner-occupied housing, especially in units and/or buildings where families with children, older adults 62 years and older, or families with persons with disabilities reside.
- Promote cost-effective and efficient healthy home methods and approaches that can be replicated and sustained.
- Build and enhance partner resources to develop the most cost-effective methods for identifying and controlling key housing-related environmental health and safety hazards.
- Promote collaboration, data sharing and targeting between health and housing departments.
- Ensure to the greatest extent feasible that job training, employment, contracting, and other economic opportunities generated by this grant will be directed to low- and very-low-income persons, particularly those who are recipients of government assistance for housing, and to businesses that provide economic opportunities to low- and very low-income persons in the area in which the project is located.
For more information, visit alabamasafestate.ua.edu/healthyhomes/
