Baltimore City was awarded a nearly $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help remove lead, mold, rodents and other health hazards from home across the City.  As reported in The Baltimore Sun:

More homes will get such improvements now. On Tuesday, U.S. Housing Secretary Julian Castro announced a nearly $4 million grant to the city for lead abatement and the cleanup of other hazards that harm city kids’ health and keep them from achieving.

Castro was flanked by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, philanthropic and nonprofit leaders, Johns Hopkins University officials and members of the congressional delegation who fought for the funding — the first major lead-related federal grant to the city since 2012.

City officials and advocates say such funding has helped reduce the number of lead-paint poisoning cases by more than 90 percent since the mid-1990s. But because it takes so little lead to cause learning and behavioral problems in a child, new cases continue to emerge as residents move into older housing.

Lead paint was banned for sale in Baltimore in 1950 and elsewhere in 1978, yet many homes still contain it.

The grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will help abate 230 homes and assess more for mold, dust, rodents, radon and clutter, now recognized as hazards to children and their families. It can also be used to improve energy efficiency.

“Every family deserves to live in a safe and healthy home where they can see their children thrive and excel,” Castro said.

Similar grants will pay for work in 3,200 homes nationwide.

For more information read the full article in The Baltimore Sun.