LEWISTON (NEWS CENTER Maine)-- Starting Thursday, November 1st, landlords in Maine have access to funds to remove lead paint from their properties.
The new program provides $4 million dollars for lead abatement, money property owners can use to help pay for removing lead poisoning threats from their buildings, a big problem in many Maine towns.
This new program was rolled out Thursday in Lewiston, a city that has long been recognized as having one of the highest rates of childhood lead poisoning in the state.
And it's not just Lewiston. In the past year alone 322 children in Maine were poisoned by lead, a highly toxic metal that has devastating effects on children's developing brains.
According to the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition, this new program will make at least 200 homes, across the state, lead safe.
The lead abatement program was approved in the last legislative session which was spearheaded by Lewiston state Representative Jared Golden.
The program is designed to encourage landlords to be proactive about lead abatement and not wait until a child is poisoned..Representative Golden says the program will save taxpayers money and prevent devastating developmental disabilities in children. Health problems that can't be reversed.
Amy Smith is a landlord in Lewiston. She says this program is critical for people to be able to renovate Maine's old housing stock and make it safe for families.
In fact, Smith says without a lead abatement program, she would not have been able to purchase her building in Lewiston. "All three units are lead-free and safe and three families with babies, toddlers, and school-age children all call this place home. So we're very happy to be able to make this work as a team. The lead money is so important because it lets owners and renovators proactively address lead hazards and still afford the overall project".
According to Greg Payne with the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition, the level of matching funds required from landlords is less if the landlord seeks abatement before any lead risks are found at the property.
But if a child had become lead poisoned, Payne says the property owner will be expected to pay 25 percent of the cost as opposed to 10 percent.