Bergen Nonprofit To Address Child Lead Poisoning Risk, With $1M Grant

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — After data revealed that households in multiple Bergen County municipalities, including Ridgewood, are among the New Jersey communities most at risk of lead paint hazards, one local nonprofit was awarded $1.34 million to perform lead hazard abatement in the area.

New data gathered through the state's expanded potential lead exposure mapping tool showed that eight Bergen County cities and towns rank among communities with the highest rates of homes at an elevated risk for lead exposure.

A week later, the state announced that Greater Bergen Community Action is one of 20 organizations selected in response to a request for proposals for the first tranche of funding through the Lead Remediation and Abatement Grant Program.

The Hackensack nonprofit, which serves Bergen County and the city of Paterson, will expend the funds on lead remediation and abatement services in nearly 75 households within the service area, GBCA Community Engagement Vice President Mike Lamendola told Patch.

"If lead paint is detected, and the household meets income eligibility – we will have qualified and certified contractors come in and eliminate the identified hazards," he said.

GBCA has 192,000 residential properties constructed prior to 1978 in Bergen County and the city of Paterson. Homes built before 1978 face an elevated lead exposure risk, because that was the year the federal government banned lead-based house paint.

"Many owners and renters of homes built prior to 1978 have no clue that they may be in harm’s way," Lamendola said. "These funds will go a long way in educating homeowners and renters about these potential risks and why a lead assessment may be needed in their home."

A total of $38 million in state funds will go to nonprofits and local governments to identify and remediate lead paint hazards, and address the "ongoing threat" of childhood lead poisoning. Priority was given to proposals that serve areas with the "highest level of need," based on the number of children under the age of six with elevated blood lead levels, the state said.

As of fiscal year 2020, Greater Bergen Community Action's service area had 224 children with elevated blood lead levels.

"Lead paint hazards pose serious health risks, particularly to young children and pregnant women, and these risks could have detrimental lifelong implications," Community Engagement VP Lamendola added. “Receiving this vital funding helps reinforce GBCA’s long-term commitment to the health and safety of low-income households."

The state funds are part of a $180 million investment of American Rescue Plan State Fiscal Recovery Funds to identify and address lead hazards at scale, the state added.

"(This funding) marks the start of our next phase in combatting the growing crisis of lead exposure that affects far too many families in New Jersey," Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement.

An additional request for proposals for a second and larger tranche of funding will be announced prior to the end of the state fiscal year in June. More funding will be available to "high-performing agencies and to organizations proposing innovative methods of abatement and rapid response to emerging issues," the state said.

GBCA and other grantees are required to report program data to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, which will analyze the data to develop program best practices and to consider potential program expansion.