Evesham Nonprofit Chosen by Governor Murphy to Introduce Largely Urban Lead-Remediation and Abatement Program

The headquarters of Lightup Your World was thus the venue Murphy chose to provide details of his administration’s new $38 million Lead Remediation and Abatement Grant Program, which will help selected communities “identify and address lead hazards” as part of its investment of $180 million in American Rescue Plan State Fiscal Recovery Funds during the 2022-23 Fiscal Year.

“This funding is creating new and equitable investments in improving people’s health and in remediating and abating lead hazards in homes across the state,” Oliver said. “As a result, community-based organizations will be able to conduct lead-safe repairs and energy efficiency improvements in residential units. The funding will also help build capacity within DCA and at the local government level to address lead hazards through new hires and apprenticeships, training, and seed capital to attract new community-based organizations into the field.” in New Jersey,” Murphy said. “This funding will allow nonprofits and local governments here in New Jersey to assist residents in their lead remediation and abatement efforts, including thousands of Black and Brown families and children who disproportionately suffer from lead poisoning. Lt. Governor Oliver and I are committed to this cause and will continue to work together to reduce these numbers.”

As 3rd District Rep. Andy Kim maintained, “A home free of lead contamination shouldn’t be a luxury, it should be a basic right guaranteed to everyone.”

“Families deserve to know with certainty that their home is safe for family members of all ages,” Kim added.

The lead remediation program is just one of the programs in which Lightup Your World is involved, noted the organization’s executive director, Jennifer Aigbodion.

By Bill B onvie Staff Writer

EVESHAM—While suburban Evesham Township is not the sort of municipality where children are usually considered threatened by lead poisoning – a problem typically associated with urban environments consisting of many older, poorly maintained homes whose interiors are coated with lead-based paint – it was the locale that Democratic Governor Phil Murphy recently used to announce a new initiative aimed at remediating such conditions.

So why was Evesham chosen to initiate a program of this sort – with members of

Evesham Township Council and government and a number of other area politicos invited to attend, along with Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who heads the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA)?

As Zane Clark, Evesham’s public information director, noted in a telephone conversation with the Pine Barrens Tribune, it was because Evesham is the home of the nonprofit Lightup Your World, which, in addition to helping low-income residents pay energy bills, has been selected to receive a $4 million grant to be used to help get the lead out of homes in both Burlington and Camden counties.

As described in a press release from Murphy’s office, “the grant funds will be used to identify and remediate lead-based paint hazards through encapsulation, replacement, or abatement.”

Encapsulation and replacement are measures designed to temporarily reduce human exposure to lead-based paint hazards, the release noted, while lead abatement measures offer a longer-term solution to removing lead-based paint hazards from surfaces through replacement and/or repair.

Proposals that serve areas with the highest level of need, it noted, will be prioritized under the program based on the number of children under the age of six with elevated blood lead levels in those areas.

“Today marks the start of our next phase in combatting the growing crisis of lead exposure that affects far too many families

“In our daily work, we have seen the tremendous impact that reaching out to New Jersey residents has made by explaining the benefits available to them and how they can qualify,” she added.

In addition to Lightup Your World, Saint Joseph’s Carpenter Society was awarded a $1.5 million grant through the new program for remediation in Burlington and Camden counties.

Also commenting on the announcement was Evesham Township’s Democratic Mayor Jaclyn “Jackie” Veasy, who called the funding initiative “a commitment to improving the long-term health and wellbeing of our state’s most valuable resource – our children.”

“I want to thank Governor Murphy and his administration for once again reaffirming their commitment to future generations, both here in Evesham Township and all across New Jersey,” Veasy added.

Subscription Order Form

Sign Up for 13 Weeks of the Pine Barrens Tribune at $39

Sign Up for 26 Weeks of the Pine Barrens Tribune at $78

Sign Up for 52 Weeks of the Pine Barrens Tribune at $156 obituary posted by the Weber Funeral home in Riverton, spent three years as a member of the Burlington County Sheriff’s Department. In an email to this newspaper on Feb. 7, former Burlington County Sheriff Jean Stanfield (now a state senator who recently announced her intention to retire at the end of her term) remembered him as having been “a wonderful officer who wanted to serve his community and country.”

“He will be missed,” she added. In a particularly touching Facebook message, his wife Kirstin wrote this to him when he joined the Pemberton department:

“This is the sixth uniform I’ve seen you in between military and police! I’m so proud of you for starting your new career as a police officer for Pemberton Township. It is bittersweet having you on the streets in the world we live in, but I know it is a dream come true for you. This world needs more good cops like you, and I pray that God keeps you safe every day as you put your life on the line for others safety. There will be nights where you don’t come home, 12-hour shifts that turn into 16+ hour shifts, many holidays missed, and nights alone. Your new department has gained more than an officer, but a whole family behind you.”