Department of Health Receives $3.3 Million to Protect Families From Household Lead in SE MN

The Minnesota Department of Health has been awarded a $3.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to work on and protect families from lead and other household hazards in southeastern Minnesota.

According to MDH data, southeastern Minnesota has higher rates of elevated blood lead levels in children compared with the state average. Factors that contrinbute to these higher rates include the region’s high percentage of older homes painted with lead-based paint, its relatively high proportion of low-income families, and the region’s shortage of newer housing for its growing population.

“Lead-based paint in older homes remains the single greatest cause of elevated lead levels in Minnesota children,” said Stephanie Yendell, lead poisoning prevention program supervisor for MDH. “Addressing sources of lead and other household hazards in homes in this region will go a long way toward protecting the health of children for years to come.”

Many families living in older homes are unable to afford to maintain or rehabilitate them, exposing children to lead dust and other hazards and the grant will prioritize connecting families whose children already have elevated blood lead levels to lead hazard reduction resources. The grant will also provide primary prevention to families whose children have not yet had elevated blood lead levels.

This work aligns with MDH’s goal and its ongoing Centers for Disease Control-supported initiatives to advance health equity by eliminating exposure to lead hazards in the homes of low-income Minnesota families.