Options for Repairing Homes Exist in Spite of Tight Credit Markets

GRAND RAPIDS - As banks are tightening eligibility criteria for access to loans, programs like the City of Grand Rapids' Get the Lead Out! program are still making money readily available to homeowners looking to make repairs to their properties.

Unlike banks, government-funded lending programs have seen few changes since the housing market collapse of 2008. The Get the Lead Out! program is still making dozens of loans each year to low-income homeowners seeking to protect their children from lead hazards. Money to replace windows and paint houses is still available.

The Healthy Homes Coalition is partnering with Home Repair Services to provide a Lead Safe Painting and Home Repair workshop for do-it-yourself home owners interested in making home repairs in a lead-safe fashion. 

A new report prepared by the Michigan Network for Children's Environmental Health, of which the Healthy Homes Coalition is a member, reports estimates the annual environmentally attributable costs of lead poisoning at $3.2 - $4.85 billion for Michigan residents.

Beginning April 22, all renovators, remodelers and painters working in pre-1978 housing are now required to be an EPA-certified renovator trained in lead safe work practices.  This requirement applies to all renovation projects, not just lead abatement.  Effected trades include remodelers, renovators, window replacement workers, painters, electricians, plumbers, and any other trades that disturb painted surfaces during the course of their work.  Landlords who make repairs themselves are also required to have this certification.

Get the Lead Out! and Healthy Homes are the cover story for the MiBiz Sustainability Report for this quarter. 

National and Local Experts Urge Lead Poisoning Testing For Children.
50% of children in Grand Rapids are not being tested for lead poisoning at the  critical ages of 1 and 2.

GRAND RAPIDS – The Grand Rapids Get The Lead Out! campaign has been successful on many fronts.  The number of homes having lead based paint abated is increasing.  Yet an alarming number of children are not being tested for lead poisoning at the critical ages of 1 and 2.

“In children, lead can cause nervous system and kidney damage, learning disabilities, speech, language problems, decreased muscle and bone growth and hearing damage,” said Joan Dyer-Zykowski, Kent County Health Department Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program Manager. "The majority of children lead poisoned in Grand Rapids are between one and two years old."

The City of Grand Rapids Get the Lead Out! program is offering free lead training for professionals seeking to enter the lead hazard control, abatement and assessment fields.  This is an opportunity for small business owners from the affected communities to receive free training to make them eligible for lead hazard control work funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The Detroit Free Press published an indepth article on Sunday, May 16 that looks at the link between lead and learning.  The article features a look at children's blood lead levels relative to their performance on MEAP scores later in life.

The US-EPA has launched a portal on its website where homeowners can find contractors who have been trained and certified in how to safely make repairs so that children are not exposed to lead hazards.  The searchable database can be accessed by clicking here.