The City of Biddeford, in partnership with Coastal Healthy Communities Coalition, has received a $3.5 million grant from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to implement a four-year lead-based paint hazard reduction program.
Program Partnership Goals
- Reduce child lead poisoning in Biddeford
- Perform lead hazard control work in housing where children under the age of six are at highest risk.
- Conduct targeted outreach to occupants of Program’s lead-remediated units & community education on lead poison prevention.
- Monitor units made lead safe by the Program to assure continued lead-safe status and availability to low-income families of children under the age of 6.
- Build local capacity of certified workers/firms to safely perform lead hazard control work.
- Address additional health / safety issues in units made lead safe (e.g., installation of new fire doors or egress windows).
Benchmarks
Between January 2023 and December 2026, the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Program will:
- Conduct FREE lead inspections/risk assessments in 95 rental units in downtown properties.
- Make 95 units lead safe for low- to moderate income tenants.
- Perform 75 FREE “Healthy Homes” assessments of environmental hazards.
- Make 70 of the 95 lead-safe units free from additional health hazards.
- Conduct community outreach to at least 4,000 individuals about the threat of childhood lead poisoning in aging rental units.
- Train/certify at least 45 individuals and four abatement firms in lead hazard control to increase local capacity and help prevent future childhood lead poisoning.