“ The connection between health and the dwelling of the population is one of the most important that exists.” -
Florence Nightingale
Although the quote above was stated over 100 years ago, the problem of unhealthy homes still exists and disproportionately affects low-income kids and their futures. In an effort to address this concern, the City of Bethlehem joined Northampton County and the City of Easton in forming the Bethlehem, Easton and Northampton County Lead Consortium (known as the BEN Partnership). The goal of the BEN Partnership is to reduce the lead, health and safety hazards in pre-1978 housing units, thereby allowing the youth of the County to live in Healthy Homes. In 2017, the BEN Partnership was awarded 1.65 million dollars from US Housing and Urban Development, Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control, to remediate lead and health hazards found in Northampton County homes.
The BEN Partnership will not be able to complete its goal without the help of certified contractors willing to perform the home remediation. Therefore, funds have been set aside to assist with the recruitment, training and licensing of lead abatement contractors. The City of Bethlehem has been approved by the Department of Labor and Industry to teach Lead Abatement Worker and Lead Abatement Supervisor courses to those individuals interested in participating in this program. The training will be free, and all licensing requirements will be reimbursed once work has been performed for the grant.
Anyone interested in learning more about the Lead Hazard Control training program, or the grant requirements/eligibility, please contact Tanya Allison, HUD Program Manager, at
tallison@bethlehem-pa.gov