[Atlanta] 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Jomal Vailes
Email: jvailes@tcwfi.org
Tel: 404-230-7139

Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced two grants totaling $2.9 million that will allow the City of Atlanta and The Center for Working Families, Inc. (TCWFI) to make hundreds of Atlanta’s older homes healthier, safer and more energy-efficient. (See full description of the grants below.)

The new HUD funding for the City of Atlanta will support the city’s Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI), a partnership between area foundations, government agencies and nonprofits to share resources and more efficiently rehabilitate homes.

GHHI Atlanta is helping the city and its community partners create an integrated, cost-effective approach for fixing older homes by doing weatherization, energy-efficiency improvements, lead-hazard reduction, and interventions to address asthma triggers, safety hazards and other unsafe conditions.

The new funding will allow the City, working with TCWFI and other partners to have its first Healthy Homes Intervention Program. It will provide free intervention services to reduce asthma triggers and safety hazards to children in low-income households.

“These HUD grant awards to the City of Atlanta and State of Georgia make it clear that healthy homes for families and children are a priority. We congratulate the city and state for supporting this extremely essential effort as we are committed to protecting children and families from these hazards,” said HUD Southeast Regional Administrator Ed Jennings, Jr.

Over three years, the Atlanta grants will allow more than 300 green and healthy units to be made more energy-efficient, with environmental and safety hazards addressed. The grant programs will also result in training and green jobs for residents of low-income communities.

The City of Atlanta applauded HUD for expanding the reach of its national Healthy Homes initiative. “My goal is for the City of Atlanta to be a leader in ending childhood lead poisoning,” said Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. “As we launch our first lead hazard control program, we appreciate the support of HUD, the State of Georgia and our many local partners who are committed to keeping our city’s children and families healthy and safe.”

David A. Jackson, President and CEO of TCWFI, said the HUD grants are meeting a major need. “Far too many vulnerable Atlanta families now live in older homes that are needlessly expensive to heat and cool, and that actually pose hazards to the people who live there, particularly children,” Jackson said. “The HUD grants will allow The Center for Working Families, Inc., the City of Atlanta and our partners to work in a far more efficient manner to help these families live in homes that are safer, healthier and more energy-efficient.”

The City of Atlanta is one of 13 cities and 2 Indian tribes selected as initial project sites for the national GHHI. Established in late 2008, this initiative brings together major national foundations and local foundations, HUD and other federal agencies, and nonprofits, all of which have coalesced around the drive to rehabilitate the nation’s older homes in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. Public and private sector investments are allowing GHHI to create sustainable green, healthy and safe housing in low-income neighborhoods. GHHI is led by the National Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning.

“These awards represent a significant investment in GHHI’s work in Atlanta to increase access to community-based green jobs, implement health-based housing standards, reduce barriers to efficient implementation and improve outcomes for children and communities of greatest need,” said Ruth Ann Norton, Executive Director of GHHI.

HUD announced these awards:

• The City of Atlanta Department of Planning and Community Development’s Office of Housing will receive $2 million in Lead Hazard Control funds and $100,000 in additional funds to promote healthy homes initiatives and to make units lead safe. The City of Atlanta will evaluate 175 units for leads hazards, eliminate lead hazards in 150 homes and provide training to 40 individuals for lead certification and green jobs. The City will also partner with The Center for Working Families, Inc., the Pittsburgh Community Improvement Association, Senior Connections, Fulton County Health Dept., the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, Southface, City of Atlanta Office of Housing, Georgia Dept. of Community Health, Emmaus House and Open Society Foundations in this program.

• The Center for Working Families, Inc., in Atlanta will receive $800,000 in Healthy Homes Production Grant funds, in partnership and coordination with the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI), to evaluate 160 homes for lead and healthy homes hazards, provide outreach for 50 events per year and provide training and certification to residents. The Center for Working Families Inc. will partner with Sustainable Neighborhood Development Strategies, Inc., Pittsburgh Community Improvement Association, Southface, GHHI, U.S. Conference of Mayors, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Open Society Foundations and Morehouse School of Medicine.


About The Center for Working Families, Inc. The mission of The Center for Working Families, Inc. (www.TCWFI.org) is to ensure economic success for hard-working families and their children. Launched in 2005 with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, TCWFI provides a combination of job placement, creation and development services, coupled with entrepreneurship and asset-building programs to meet the needs of at risk families. TCWFI is recognized nationally as a best practices organization for its leadership in community transformation through economic development and self-sufficiency.