Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Chief Development Officer Tim Sheehan are announcing that the City of Springfield has received a grant funding award totaling $5,123,276.05 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and up to $700,000 in match funding from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office for Administration & Finance’s Federal Match and Debt Reduction Fund.
The funding will be utilized by the Offices of Community Development and Housing to administer a Lead Hazard Reduction Program that will fund lead hazard control and limited healthy homes activities in approximately 120 units of housing throughout the City of Springfield and to educate the public about the dangers of lead-based paint in homes.
Mayor Sarno states, “This is vital de-leading program that will help provide for the safety of families and their children within their own homes. One of the major components of addressing housing needs is making sure existing housing options are healthy. I am proud of my administration’s efforts, especially our Community Development team, toward helping homeowners make needed repairs and perform rehabilitation to their homes, which strengthens our neighborhoods and reduces health disparities within our communities.”
The City anticipates making applications available for funding within the next ninety (90) days. Grant funding was awarded through a competitive process and will run through April 1, 2030.
The funding will allow for abatement and interim controls to reduce lead paint risk to pregnant women and children under six. The funding award also includes an additional Healthy Homes Supplement that will allow for assessment of units receiving lead hazard abatement for additional interventions to remediate the most common home injury hazards for children. Funding will be available to both income qualified owner-occupants and/or investor-owners whose tenants qualify, funding will be paid out in the form of 0% forgivable loans. Investor-owners will be required to invest 10% of the cost when the property is transferred or sold, enabling the City to maintain a pool of revolving funds to produce more lead-safe units in the future.
Chief Development Officer Tim Sheehan states, “Although lead has been removed from paint sold in the U.S for decades, lead exposures persist. With communities of color and residents in urban and low-income areas being at greatest risk for exposure. This grant funding will assist the City in addressing the persistence of and inequities in lead exposures in Springfield and will provide needed resources to more fully respond to lead exposure as a public health concern.”
Springfield is rated a high-risk community for childhood lead poisoning due to significant percentages of aged housing stock and conditions. This funding is critical to reduce the risk of lead exposure for Springfield children. There is no safe level of lead exposure and there are often no immediate symptoms, with symptoms not developing until the lead in the blood has reached dangerous levels. A blood test is the only accurate way to determine levels of lead exposure. Children under the age of 6 are especially vulnerable to lead poisoning. Lead poisoning in children under the age of six can cause irreversible damage to children’s brains and central nervous systems, leading to slowed growth and development, hearing and speech difficulties, learning and behavioral issues, decreased ability to pay attention and underperformance in school, etc.
The City will partner with two subrecipients to assist with administration of programming under the grant. The Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts will administer the community education and outreach programming and Revitalize CDC will administer the Healthy Homes Supplement that will utilize the Hopkins/GHHI-CHASE Tool for Injury Prevention to assess and remediate the most frequent causes of injury to children within the home.
Contractors that are adequately licensed to perform de-leading work and who are interested in getting on the pre-approved contractor list, are encouraged to contact Julimar Otero in the Offices of Community Development and Housing at (413)787-6500 or via email at, jotero@springfieldcityhall.com. Contractors will be required to complete an application and submit copies of license and insurance.
Property owners who are interested in getting on the waiting list to be contacted when applications are available for program funding are encouraged to contact Julimar Otero in the Offices of Community Development and Housing at (413)787-6500 or via email at, jotero@springfieldcityhall.com.