County Expands Lead Abatement For Low-Income Homes

Houses on S. Howell Ave. in Bay View. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Milwaukee County’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will use $7.75 million in federal funding to expand lead abatement for low-income homeowners.

The funds will be deployed through an existing home repair program run by the county’s Housing Services Department located within DHHS, according to a report from the agency. The home repair program provides interest free loans to low-income, owner-occupants to make home repairs including lead remediation.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded the county a $7.75 million through the Lead Hazard Reduction Program ($7 million) and the Healthy Homes Program ($750,000). The funding is intended to cover the program through 2029 and fund remediation work for an estimated 200 properties.

“We are appreciative to the department of U.S. Housing and Urban Development for this funding to address a critical issue facing our community. We will be focusing on homes across our suburban communities where there are children with elevated lead levels,” Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said in a statement. “Protecting our children from harm and giving them the best chance for a strong start in life is our highest priority.”

The county has made an effort in recent years to invest in housing, specifically affordable housing, in suburban communities. The policy is designed to improve economic mobility for low-income families that would otherwise be priced out of many suburban communities.

Housing Services will work with local non-profits and municipal health officials to share information about the funding for lead remediation in the home repair program. All the inspectors employed by the Home Repair program are already Lead Risk Assessors, according to DHHS. They will conduct assessments to determine if the property has lead-based paint hazards within the home, monitoring the work and certifying completion.

The Home Repair program is already funded through the county property taxes, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and HUD’s HOME program. The county plans to use existing CDBG funds to cover the local match for the grant.

“This is another example of how we continue to deliver services to advance health equity and close the gap in root causes of health disparities,” Crowley said. “I commend the Housing Services team for seeking funding to reduce the lead hazard in homes across the County.”

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