September 4, 2019 - The City of Fort Wayne’s Office of Housing & Neighborhood Services is now offering a Lead Paint Remediation Program to help protect children from the dangers of lead poisoning.

Currently in the United States, there are more than one million children who have been poisoned by lead from old paint. Chipping and peeling paint, or home repairs that create even a small amount of lead dust, are enough to poison a child. Exposure to the paint can damage a child’s brain, slow their growth, cause learning and behavior problems, and cause speech and hearing problems.

Funding from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development will allow Housing & Neighborhood Services to remediate lead paint in approximately 140 Fort Wayne homes. Property owners may qualify for the program if:

  • The home was built prior to 1978 (the year lead paint was banned for use in homes);
  • A child or children under the age of six lives in the home;
  • The parent or guardian is willing to have the child’s blood tested for lead; and
  • The household income of the occupants is less than $52,500 for a family of four or $42,000 for a family of two.

To apply for the program property owners should call 260-427-8585 to answer a few questions and leave their information on a voice mail system. Someone from Housing & Neighborhood Services will then call them back to determine their eligibility. As always, funding is limited for this program, so qualified property owners are accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis.

More information is available at www.fwcommunitydevelopment.org/leadprogram.