News December 4, 2020

Lead Safe Resource Center Now Open

Lead Safe Home Loans and Grants Available to Eligible Landlords

Cleveland, OH – On December 4, 2020, the Lead Safe Resource Center and the Lead Safe Home Loans and Grants will be open and available to the public.

Lead Safe Resource Center Now Open

The Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition created the Lead Safe Home Fund to provide property owners and families with support for home repair and lead poisoning prevention. Comprised of the Resource Center and Home Loans and Grants, the Lead Safe Home Fund is structured to be flexible and nimble, with a five-year, $99.4 million target budget.

Since launching the Fund in September 2019, the Coalition has raised nearly $30 million in commitments. Major investors include the State of Ohio, the City of Cleveland, Gund Foundation, Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation, St. Luke’s Foundation, Cleveland Foundation, Huntington Bank, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation, United Way of Greater Cleveland, and Bruening Foundation. Fundraising will continue throughout 2021 with more investor announcements forthcoming soon.

Lead Safe Resource Center, managed by Environmental Health Watch (EHW)

The Lead Safe Resource Center, managed by EHW, serves as the front door to the Lead Safe Home Fund. It is a one-stop-shop where residents, landlords, lead safe workers, and others can learn about lead hazards, receive support and access resources to make homes lead safe.

“When we launched the Coalition, we knew we had to build trust, develop authentic partnerships with residents and deliver on what we said was important to prevent our kids from being poisoned by lead,” said Kim Foreman, Executive Director of Environmental Health Watch and Resource Center Administrator. “We couldn’t just talk about the people impacted by neighborhood disinvestment, we had to engage them. We couldn’t just talk about health disparities, we had to get to the root causes of racist policies and practices.”

The Lead Safe Resource Center will provide:

  • Lead poisoning prevention outreach and education
  • Dedicated hotline and resource navigation
  • Workforce development for lead safe workers

Since August, the Lead Safe Resource Center has been training lead safe workers and canvassing Cleveland neighborhoods with educational materials.

“We know where the system has broken down before — supports need to be accessible, easy to navigate, and shared by trusted partners. This commitment guides the Resource Center,” added Foreman. Engaging and empowering residents is among the top priorities of the Resource Center.

“The Resource Center isn’t just a place. It’s a source of energy. It’s people working together, engaging with one another and building community,” said Fred Ward, Outreach Specialists Team Supervisor at the Resource Center. “The Resource Center is what happens when you bring people together from all over this community to accomplish something better than any one of us could do alone.”

Lead Safe Home Loans and Grants, managed by CHN Housing Partners (CHN)

CHN Housing Partners is managing Lead Safe Home Loans and Grants, a spectrum of loans and grants to help property owners achieve the City of Cleveland’s new Lead Safe Certification, the program requiring rental units built before 1978 be certified as lead safe beginning in March 2021.

“This isn’t only about requiring rental units to be lead safe, it is about meeting landlords where they are at. Our role is to help property owners—especially those ‘mom-and-pop’ landlords— improve the quality of the units they rent and get their Lead Safe Certification,” said Kevin J. Nowak, Executive Director of CHN.

Available Lead Safe Home Loans and Grants include:

  • Loans up to $7,500 for eligible property owners
  • Grants up to $7,000 for eligible landlords
  • Incentives of $500 for eligible landlords who achieve their Lead Safe Certification

Since August, CHN has been meeting with landlords to understand their needs and craft the new loan and grant products accordingly. “We are tailoring our grants, loans and incentives so that property owners can access the resources they need in a comprehensive, straightforward way,” Nowak said. “Landlords and property owners are crucial partners in ensuring safe, decent and healthy housing. Together, we will not only help make Cleveland lead safe, but we will reinvest millions of dollars directly into our neighborhoods and our homes.”

CHN is working collaboratively with the Resource Center. “The Lead Safe Resource Center is the front door to the community. We’ve taken great steps to ensure that the systems work together and people are directed to the support they need,” added Nowak.

To Learn More:

The Lead Safe Resource Center is located at:
4600 Euclid Ave.,
Cleveland, OH 44103

Visit the website: www.leadsafecle.org

Call the Lead Safe Hotline: 1-833-601-5323 (LEAD)

Landlords interested in applying for financial assistance: https://chnhousingpartners.org/lead/

Due to COVID, we are unable to provide any in-person interviews or tours at this time. Once it can be done safely, we plan additional in-person opportunities to capture the work of the Coalition.

About the Coalition

The Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition is an inclusive, public-private partnership founded to address lead poisoning through a comprehensive, preventive and long-term approach. This approach protects Cleveland’s children by merging smart, adaptable public policies; knowledgeable agencies willing to collaborate; proven community programs and leaders; and public and private sector accountability. With community voice embedded in all aspects, the Coalition is working on: 1) Supporting and measuring the City of Cleveland’s Lead Safe Certificate system, 2) Developing a lead safe workforce, 3) Rolling out a public awareness campaign, 4) Advocating for state and federal lead safe policies and resources, 5) Securing investments into the Lead Safe Home Fund, and 6) Launching the Lead Safe Resource Center and Home Loans and Grants. Today, the Coalition has over 400 members and six working committees and continues to

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