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Paul Haan, Get The Lead Out! Newsletter, Issue #5,
June 14, 2005
In this Newsletter:
1) One in Four of Kent County's Children Could Soon be Poisoned
2) Get the Lead Out! Nominated for Carter Award
3) Saquemos el Plomo! Holds Outreach Event
4) Neighborhood Leader Ignites "Healthy Homes" Approach
5) City Commission Candidate Forum
6) Get the Lead Out! Goes to Muskegon
7) Michigan Lead-Safe Partnership Receives Award
8) Training Opportunities
9) Next Get the Lead Out! Collaborative meeting
1) One in Four of Kent County's Children Could Soon be Poisoned
In 2004, Kent County tested 11,112 children for lead poisoning. The
good news is that only 262 of those children had an elevated blood
lead greater than 10.0ug/dL, the CDC's current threshold for action.
The bad news is that 2,721 of those children had blood lead levels
between 5.0 and 9.9ug/dL--nearly 25% of all children tested!
This is of concern because without intervention, these children are at
exceptionally high risk of achieving blood lead levels greater than
the current action threshold of 10.0ug/dL. It is of further concern
given recent studies on brain development and what we now know about
cognitive development and the impact of low levels of lead on a
child's IQ.
This data is a reminder to remain vigilant in local efforts to remove
lead from children's environments. It is a call to action in support
of parents who live in high-risk housing. Primary prevention is a key,
cost effective strategy to reduce risk. What simple steps might your
organization do to help spread the word and support parents in their
efforts to protect their children?
2) Get the Lead Out! Nominated for Carter Award
As an example of one of the many partnerships that are a part of the
Get the Lead Out! collaborative, Aquinas College and the Baxter
Community Center have been nominated as finalists for Michigan’s Jimmy
and Rosalynn Carter Partnership Award for campus-community
collaboration. The award will be presented by Rosalynn Carter during
the annual Governor’s Service Awards Dinner to be held at the Hyatt
Regency in Dearborn on Saturday, June 18.
The Get the Lead Out! partnership was one of four finalists selected
from 22 applications statewide. The collaboration between Aquinas
College and the Baxter Community Center includes numerous outreach
events, neighborhood canvassing, and making sure that both students
and neighbors learn strategies for solving this community problem.
Created in 2000, the Carter Partnership Award is designed to recognize
college/university and community groups that work together in
exceptional ways to improve people’s lives and help students learn
in the process.
3) ĦSaquemos el Plomo! Holds Outreach Event
ĦSaquemos el Plomo! held their second large community outreach event
Saturday, June 4 at Home Repair Services. The fair included lead
education, food, clowns, face painting, and live music from the youth
batucada, an all-volunteer Latin drum ensemble organized by Spectrum
Health's Programa de Apoyo A Nuestra Comunidad. Materials and
presentations were offered primarily in Spanish.
Home Repair Services Lead Educator, Michael Soto said "As people are
working in their homes this summer, lead levels can go up, especially
when windows are opening and closing and putting lead dust into the
home. It is important we educate everyone on the dangers of lead."
John Wsol from the EPA Region V Office in Chicago came to demonstrate
lead-safe work habits. After the event, John commented on how
receptive the audience was to the information. He felt his time was
well spent since many of those in attendance are in the midst of
renovating old homes and could immediately benefit from his
information.
Funding support was provided by the Regional Interagency Coordinating
Committee. ĦSaquemos el Plomo! is a coalition of organizations
reaching our to the Spanish-speaking community with a message of lead
safety. For more information on ĦSaquemos el Plomo!, contact Michael
Soto at
msoto@homerepairservices.org.
4) Neighborhood Leader Ignites "Healthy Homes" Approach
Members of the Get the Lead Out! Outreach Committee confronted a
brutal truth when Baxter parent Tino Scott told local service
providers that just maybe childhood lead poisoning is not the most
urgent concern to neighborhood parents. But Tino didn't stop by
pointing out the problem, he also suggested a profound
solution--looking at homes and families more holistically.
Tino is a Baxter resident and Community
Outreach Worker with the Calvin Nursing program. Through his
experiences talking to neighbors, Tino heard many neighbors discuss a
wide array of environmental challenges that face families living in
older homes: mold, moisture, carbon monoxide, fear of fire, accident
hazards, and many other threats to the health of children. He
suggested that lead is just one of many environmental concerns, and
perhaps the best pace to start is with whatever issue the parent deems
most threatening to the health of the household.
Since Tino shared this wisdom, the Get the Lead Out! Outreach
Committee has been exploring ways in which to link childhood lead
poisoning more holistically to the concerns of parents raising
children in older housing. The group's first value is to be responsive
to the needs expressed by parents. For example, if a parent's first
concern is fire, there are simple steps that can be taken to address
that primary concern such as installing smoke detectors and checking
batteries. By working together, the opportunity is created to discuss
and solve other environmental health issues, including lead.
The Outreach Committee is developing a business plan to see if such a
"healthy homes" approach could be launched in one or two Grand Rapids
neighborhoods. If you would like to help, contact Paul Haan at
gtlo@sbcglobal.net.
5) City Commission Candidate Forum
The Advocacy Coalition for Young Children and Their Families and the
Community Media Center invite you to watch a City Commission Candidate
Forum on Young Children and Their Families. The live, in-studio taping
will take place at 8:45am, July 14 at the Community Media Center, 711
Bridge St NW.
The forum will be broadcast live on LiveWire - Grand Rapids’ cable
channel 24 at 9:00am, July 14. This will be a live call-in show,
taking questions from both the studio audience as well as call-in
viewers. All eleven City Commission Candidates are invited to attend.
Playback dates and times on LiveWire cable channel 24 are as follows:
Tuesday July 19 at 7:00 pm
Thursday, July 19 at 7:00 pm
Sunday, July 24 at 6:00 pm
Saturday, July 30 at 10:00 am
Sunday, July 31 at 6:00 pm
Get the Lead Out! is an active member of the Advocacy Coalition for
Young Children and Their Families. For more information on the
coalition, contact Laureen Kennedy at
laureen.kennedy@comcast.net.
6) Get the Lead Out! Goes to Muskegon
Under a recently-awarded state contract, Get
the Lead Out! has begun working with an emerging coalition in Muskegon
to build local capacity to end childhood lead poisoning both in the
City of Muskegon and Muskegon Heights. Although it is a smaller
community, the health disparities and challenges are strikingly
similar to those that were faced by Grand Rapids in the year 2000.
By sharing Grand Rapids' experience, it is hoped that lessons learned
can be shared and adapted to local challenges and opportunities in
Muskegon. Get the Lead Out! staff recently met with two dozen
professionals and community members as Muskegon re-convened and
re-energized "Lead-Safe Now!," a local coalition.
Assistance in adapting the Get the Lead Out! coalition-building model
will continue throughout the summer in Muskegon, and will also
commence shortly in Benton Harbor, the second city targeted in the
state contract.
Get the Lead Out! friends and partners with contacts in Muskegon or
Benton Harbor are encouraged to share names and numbers with Project
Coordinator Paul Haan. Existing relationships are important and
extremely helpful! If you have contacts in either of these cities,
please contact Paul at
gtlo@sbcglobal.net.
7) Michigan Lead-Safe Partnership Receives Award
The Michigan Lead Safe Partnership (MLSP) received the "Outstanding
Achievement in Advocacy" award from the Michigan Council for Maternal
and Child Health on June 2, 2005. The award comes in response to
MLSP's advocacy work to get seven childhood lead poisoning bills
passed in the 92nd Michigan Legislature.
Get the Lead Out! is a founding member of MLSP, along with the Detroit
Lead Partnership and the lead coalition in Saginaw.
8) Training Opportunities
Health and Human Service Provider Training - Michigan Family Resources
continues to host Get the Lead Out! trainings for service providers
in. The training provides the most current and locally applicable
information on childhood lead poisoning prevention and intervention,
including local resources for referral. This is an excellent way to
orient new staff to the issues.
The training is designed for those who work with parents of young
children - nurses, social workers, home visit workers, early childhood
professionals, community workers, and others. 3.24 nursing contact
hours are offered through the Michigan Nurses Association.
Scheduled training dates are June 23 and July 13. All trainings are
8:15am - Noon. To register, contact Sue Sipkema at (616) 453-4145 x282
or
ssipkema@michiganfamilyresources.org.
Lead Safe Work Practices - Home Repair Services continues to offer
Lead Safe Work Practices training. This 8-hour, EPA approved
curriculum teaches homeowners, landlords, maintenance staff, and
remodelers how to work lead-safe. The training is free and open to
all. There next few classes are:
- June 15 and 16 from 8:00 am - 12:00 each day.
- July 14 and 15 from 8:00 am - 12:00 each day.
- August 18 and 19 from 8:00 am - 12:00 each day.
Register by contacting Michael Soto at 241-2601 x236 or
msoto@homerepairservices.org. Please
feel free to announce this opportunity to your constituents or in your
organization's newsletter.
9) Next Get the Lead Out! Collaborative meeting
The date of the next Get the Lead Out! collaborative meeting is
Wednesday, July 6. The meeting will be 3:00 - 5:00pm at the Baxter
Community Center. As always, guests are welcome to come and learn
more.
To receive collaborative meeting agenda packets via email, contact
gtlo@sbcglobal.net.
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