In 2019, the Department of Housing and Urban Development gave Dallas $2.3 million to remove lead-based paint, as well as other health and safety hazards, from homes across the city. Dallas threw in its own money too, $735,000, to implement the program, which aimed to service 121 homes.
Children exposed to lead can suffer from nervous system and kidney damage, learning disabilities, as well as speech, language and behavioral problems. Lead exposure can also cause high blood pressure and pregnancy complications.committee meeting. As the meeting was wrapping up, committee member and council person Cara Mendelsohn asked if they could go over the performance metrics for the Department of Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization.
Ten homes have been chosen for bid walks. Mendelsohn estimated that of the 10, only a fraction would actually get picked for service. “I’m concerned that you have done zero homes,” Mendelsohn said. “You’re going to inspect 10, which my experience is, for every 10 you inspect, you’re probably doing two.”
According to the city, more than half of all privately owned occupied homes built before 1978 likely contain lead-based paint. An application for the program can be found on theDallas is also missing its marks on several other home repair efforts, according to a May 23 memo detailing the Department of Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization's progress.