November 25, 2013 | Associated Press
A team created to help deal with thousands of blighted properties in Detroit is starting work on a database of deteriorating or abandoned structures. The Detroit News reports the survey effort, coordinated by Data Driven Detroit, is expected this week to begin training teams that in December will begin assessments.
November 11, 2013 | CBS Detroit
Ridding Detroit of thousands of burned-out and dilapidated structures is an ongoing issue in the city struggling for a comeback.
And there’s a pilot project under way to figure out if there’s a way to do it in a way that gets jobs, adds value and does no environmental damage.
Using 10 abandoned houses as a case study, a pilot project in Detroit’s Springwells Village is under way to evaluate the environmental […]
November 5, 2013 | AmeriCorps Urban Safety Project
DETROIT, MICH. –Gov. Rick Snyder and Mayor Dave Bing today announced the launch and expansion of an innovative crime reduction model in the city of Detroit: the AmeriCorps Governor & Mayor Initiative Urban Safety Corps Program. A unique public-private partnership, the program utilizes 36 AmeriCorps members as catalysts to mobilize and recruit community volunteers to join them in improving public safety in targeted Detroit neighborhoods.
“AmeriCorps programs across […]
October 20, 2013 | Detroit Free Press
For a decade, a partnership between foundations, government and nonprofits was making a dent in one of Detroit’s most pervasive problems: lead, a contaminant that has serious, irreversible effects for children, in thousands of homes.
There’s no great mystery about how to abate lead hazards: You test for them, then deal with them. But the execution is more complicated. Funding has long been a problem, and coordination between agencies […]
October 1, 2013 | CLEARCorps/ Detroit
Finding a qualified Lead Inspector/Risk Assessor is essential to ensure that your Lead Inspection/Risk Assessment is thorough, accurate, and meets the requirements of City of Detroit Property Maintenance Code. Lead Inspection/Risk Assessment Companies listed on this webpage have met minimum standards as defined by the Detroit Enforcement Work Group. Minimum but essential criteria include the use of an XRF device for determining lead in paint, […]
September 30, 2013 | National Center for Healthy Housing
Report Shows 40% of U.S. Homes have Health and Safety Hazards
Columbia, MD (September 30, 2013) – The National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) has released the newest results of The State of Healthy Housing, a comprehensive study of housing conditions in 46 metropolitan areas of the nation. The study reveals that 35 million– 40 percent – of metropolitan homes in the U.S. have one or […]
September 26, 2013 | Detroit Free Press
WASHINGTON — Nearly $300 million in aid for Detroit — from federal and state coffers, private businesses and charitable foundations — will be announced Friday as Obama administration officials visit the city to discuss what can be done to help eradicate blight, improve transportation, encourage new business and make residents safer.
The funding will include $150 million in blight eradication and community redevelopment, including $65 million in Community Development Block […]
September 18, 2013 | USA Today
Pediatricians and public-health advocates are working to revive programs to protect children from lead poisoning, after what they describe as a series of devastating blows to their efforts.
Congress all but eliminated federal funding to prevent lead poisoning in 2012, cutting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s lead budget by more than 90%. There is no safe level of lead, the CDC estimates that 535,000 American kids have […]
August 29, 2013 | MacArthur Foundation
Housing quality and housing stability matter to children’s well-being, according to MacArthur-supported research by Boston College detailed in a How Housing Matters Policy Brief. Living in unsafe or unsanitary homes is related to greater emotional and behavioral problems among children and adolescents, and poor housing quality is also related to poorer school performance for older children. Moving frequently is also detrimental to children’s well-being. In contrast, unaffordability had little […]
August 14, 2013 | USA Today
Scientists have long known that children with high levels of toxic lead in their bloodstream are more likely than others to behave impulsively, have shorter attention spans and lower IQs and do poorly in school.
Research out Tuesday finds that even children with just moderate levels of lead in their first three years of life are nearly three times as likely to be suspended from school by the […]