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Housing and Homelessness
Housing issues affect everyone in Connecticut, from those who are searching for a safe place to live, to those who may find it increasingly difficult to afford a place they already call home.WNPR is covering Connecticut's housing and homelessness issues in a series that examines how residents are handling the challenges they face. We look at the trends that matter most right now, and tell stories that help bring the issues to light.

New Haven Struggles To Tackle Lead Abatement

WSHU | By Cassandra Basler
Published August 28, 2018 at 9:59 AM EDT
A registered nurse draws a blood sample to test for lead poisoning.
Carlos Osorio
/
AP
A registered nurse draws a blood sample to test for lead poisoning.

A 2-year-old girl living in a rental home in New Haven, Connecticut, tested positive for lead in her blood. The levels were nine times what the federal government says will cause irreversible development problems.

The little girl still lives at 130 Grafton Street, where a city inspector found toxic levels of lead paint. The landlord is set to appear in court for criminal charges on Thursday. That’s after she failed to remove lead paint in the home nearly a year after the the city ordered her to.

Several New Haven tenants have sued landlords over lead abatement this year. The judges told city officials to take over abatement at three rental properties.

The city’s problems with lead are not going away. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that if a house was built before 1940, there’s about a 90 percent chance it has some lead paint.

More than half of New Haven’s housing stock was built before 1939 and most of those homes are renter-occupied.

Copyright 2018 WSHU
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Cassandra Basler
Cassandra Basler oversees Connecticut Public’s flagship daily news programs, Morning Edition and All Things Considered. She’s also an editor of the station’s limited series podcast, 'In Absentia' and producer of the five-part podcast Unforgotten: Connecticut’s Hidden History of Slavery.
See stories by Cassandra Basler

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

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