Did you know it costs $5,000-$20,000 to remove lead from a home? Many residents don’t have this kind of money to eliminate lead hazards in their homes. In the alternative, moving and trying to find a lead-safe home may not be easy either. Relocation costs can restrict low-income families from moving to safer housing and may be hard to find. Keeping in mind that each case is different, the average relocation cost in Detroit is $2,000 per family and this includes application fees, first month’s rent, moving costs, and utility turn-on.
In Cleveland, Ohio, state grants are now available to families in need of financial help to relocate to lead safe homes. The grants up to $1,500 are centered on short term emergencies for low-income families with children or pregnant women. Prior to June of 2018, Ohio families could apply for assistance but had to show proof that they were being evicted. The requirements have changed and the county now accepts multiple forms of proof of need. This kind of program may be a good fit for Michigan families feeling trapped by a home with too high of costs to make lead safe.
Currently in Michigan, childhood lead poisoning is being addressed through a pilot program in Detroit. Mary Sue Schottenfels and her team from ClearCorps are spearheading this pilot. She will comment on the current Detroit pilot program where families are spending less money by relocating rather than abating their homes at an upcoming MIALSH monthly coalition call.
It is important to note that relocation is cheaper than abatement if there is safe housing to move families to in their communities. The average cost to lead abate a home in Michigan is $25,000 but in cities with larger housing, such as Detroit, it is much higher. The dollar amount depends on the number of windows, doors, corroded pipes, amount of siding, lead-based paint and increases the more square footage the house has. Although lead removal is expensive, these remedies are capable of lasting up to 20 years, yet need to be re-checked annually depending on which abatement activities were completed. Lead abatement may not be the solution for every family so we need to keep other alternatives on the table while trying to be frugal with our dollars. That is why the Detroit relocation pilot is so important.
For more information on the ongoing relocation pilot program in Detroit, check out this link:
https://www.michiganradio.org/post/detroit-demo-blitz-linked-rising-lead-levels-children
