Cerro Gordo County Public Health, in partnership with the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department, is offering home improvement programs for those who qualify.
The Lead Hazard Control Program and the Healthy Homes Program are available to Cerro Gordo County residents who meet other qualifications. The programs serve both owner-occupied and rental homes.
Jennifer Anderson owns a home on Sixth Street in Mason City. She inherited the property and she and her fiancé Nicholas McCorkle are pleased to have qualified for both programs. The home needed repairs when they moved in in March and the pair got right to work.
“It took forever to clean everything out of here,” Anderson said. “My fiancé works for Speedee Delivery and he works 13- or 14- hour days. I did a lot of the work myself.”
Anderson has three children. A daughter, 17, and two sons, 10 and four. Her 10 year old has a disability, which qualified them for the Healthy Homes Program. Her home was built before 1978 and also had lead paint.
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The Lead Hazard Control Program helps residents by removing or mitigating lead paint in the home.
“Whoever painted this house used high-quality lead paint. They were also very thorough in protecting the home,” Mark Mathre, environmental health specialist for CGPH said. “Lead paint was used when you’re looking for durability and whoever painted this place did a good job.”
Lead in paint or other materials poses a hazard to young children. When paint chips, it can be broken down into ingestible or inhalable particles and builds up in the body. Increased lead levels can lead to reduced IQ, developmental delays, learning disabilities, impaired hearing, and more.
“We want to leave this home for our kids,” Anderson said. “My fiancé really wants it to be in our family for generations. It may go to my youngest who can help out his brother. It can keep them from poverty by owning a home.”
CGPH will have contractors beginning work on the Anderson home starting Monday, Aug 12. The family must move out of the house while lead paint is being removed and will stay in a local hotel for the 10 to 14 days it takes to complete the work.
“I’m a stay-at-home mom and it’s a hassle, for sure,” Anderson said, “but the benefit is the hotel will cook breakfast for the kids.”
In addition to lead mitigation, work on the Anderson home will include radon mitigation, some concrete work in the driveway, gutters added to the home, hand rails on the stairs, complete window replacement of all the windows in the house, some electrical work and floor supports to shore up the first floor. The exterior has also been painted with lead paint and CGPH will side the house with vinyl siding to mitigate the lead.
“Dollar-wise, it’s one of the larger projects we have in play right now,” Mathre said.
The Lead Hazard Control Program has improved 145 homes already. It is available to anyone who has children under six years of age in the home for more than 60 hours a month. The program typically helps young families, but is also available to those who care for young children, such as grandparents and daycares.
The Healthy Homes Program serves those over the age of 62 or with a disability. Mathre admits that the applications can be cumbersome, but the payoff is worthwhile. “We do have quite a bit of paperwork. For renters, the majority of it falls on them. We ask for income verification and birth certificates along with other documents. The landlords really have lot less to turn in.”
To view information on the home improvement programs available from CGPH, visit the website at cghealth.com or call 641-421-9300 for more information.
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