National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week is Oct. 19-25, and UNLV and the City of Henderson are partnering to protect children and families from lead-based paint hazards in the home.

UNLV's School of Community Health Sciences and the City of Henderson received a grant last year from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to create a lead-safe and healthy housing program in Henderson.

The team's focus is on original Henderson town site homes and others built before 1978, the year lead-based paint was banned. Lead-based paint becomes a health hazard as it ages and begins to crack and peel, creating a dust that settles in and around the home.

The program is free for qualified Henderson residents - both homeowners and renters - with services including repainting and/or lead abatement, basic maintenance and repairs, and installation of air filters, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and other safety devices to make the home a healthy environment.

"The collaboration UNLV and the City of Henderson is a great example of how research partnerships benefit our communities, cities and educational institutions," said Shawn Gerstenberger, dean of the School of Community Health Sciences. "Partnering with forward- thinking organizations like the City of Henderson and submitting competitive research proposals brings much needed federal funding to Nevada."

Residents must meet the following criteria to participate in the Henderson Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes Program:

• A Henderson resident living in a home within the city built prior to 1978
• Have at least one child 5 and under who lives or visits the home, or an expectant mother who lives in the home.
• Must meet HUD income guidelines

To learn more or to see if you qualify, call 702-895-5422 to speak with a Lead Hazard and Healthy Homes Specialist.

National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week is Oct. 19-25, and this year's theme, "Lead-free kids for a healthy future," stresses the importance of parental intervention to reduce harmful lead exposure in children. Learn more at leadfreekids.org.

Watch: UNLV Healthy Homes Program

School of Community Health Sciences
UNLV's School of Community Health Sciences has experience in addressing environmental health hazards in community housing through projects supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency. Major initiatives include the Clark County Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program to reduce childhood lead poisoning and a National Healthy Homes Training Center, which educates first responders, health officials and community members in the assessment and treatment of housing related health hazards.