San Antonio – The city of San Antonio’s Green & Healthy Homes initiative is helping owners and landlords of residential properties create a safe environment for families by removing lead-based paint from homes.
“This project is a very underutilized program. Lead-based paint, it’s invisible. It’s not something that gets a lot of attention in a household,” said Jennifer Buxton, housing production manager.
Buxton said the city received a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for $4.6 million to help remove lead-based paint from homes.
Buxton said since the program started in 2000, 1,600 homes have been remediated. The new 3-year grant will allow the city to help 230 more homes. They will scrape and paint or remove and replace things such as windows.
There are many requirements to qualify for the program. The house must have been built prior to 1978, and there must be a child in the home under the age of 6.
“If a household qualifies, then we send a consultant out and they actually test the surfaces for lead-based paint. Once that occurs, then we can send out a contractor, and the contractors that are state qualified, state-certified, abate or remediate that lead-based paint,” Buxton said.
Buxton said while they have fixed about 70 homes per year, they want to reach more people.
Exposure to lead can be especially harmful to young children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some possible health effects include damage to the brain and nervous system, slowed growth and development, learning and behavior problems and hearing and speech problems. These health effects can cause lower IQ and impact a child’s ability to focus.