United Way of Greater Cleveland has joined forces in a citywide coalition aimed at eliminating exposure to toxic lead paint that is poisoning Cleveland’s youngest children. The Lead-Safe Summit, a free all-day event on June 21 at the Huntington Convention Center, will be the first step in the coalition’s efforts to reach a goal of making Cleveland lead safe by 2028.
Children living in Cleveland have higher lead exposure compared to many other communities because of the city’s aging houses and poverty levels. Young children typically inhale or ingest lead paint chips or dust. The highest risk is in deteriorating homes built before 1978, when the federal government outlawed lead paint. Estimates put the number of homes in Cleveland built before 1978 at more than 80 percent. Many of these homes are rentals.
The formation of the Lead-Safe Cleveland coalition was announced in January and includes leaders from the medical community, education and the city of Cleveland, along with local philanthropic and business representatives. They expect about 450 participants at the inaugural summit.
“Our goal is to make the event as inclusive as possible,” says Andrew Katusin of United Way and chair of the Summit Committee. United Way is taking the lead role on all aspects of the summit event, which includes bringing in a diverse group of participants.
The other committees in the coalition are community engagement, resource development, policy and governance.
“We are putting out ‘requests for content’ to gather input on creating breakout sessions at the summit that will be most impactful and bring the most voices to the table,” he says.
Katusin, director of Basic Needs, is responsible for the group of United Way-funded organizations that address what he calls “here and now needs” like food and shelter. He says it is urgent that the lead problem be addressed now so Cleveland children can get on equal footing when they enter elementary school.
“Under today’s 21st century definition, we consider a quality education a basic need as well,” he adds.
According to a recent study by the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, which is part of Case Western Reserve University, one-quarter of tested kindergarteners enrolling in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District have elevated blood lead levels. In some schools, the levels rose to one-third to nearly one-half. The effects of exposure on young children include damage to the brain and nervous system, slowed development and decreased IQ, as well as learning, behavior, hearing and speech problems. All this puts children at a disadvantage before they even begin first grade.
Katusin says property owners, health care providers, social workers, people from the education system, business owners, residents, taxpayers and advocates must be part of the solution.
“Preventing this problem is so complicated,” he points out. But in spite of the challenges, he is optimistic about the summit, which he describes as a pep rally of sorts. He says that now is the time to solve the problem.
“We can tackle this — that’s our goal,” he says. “We are building Cleveland’s path forward.”
The work he refers to is the similar lead removal efforts that have taken place in other cities. He says the coalition will look to local and national experts for guidance — learning from their mistakes and studying their best practices.
Katusin says the summit is a good example of United Way’s new Impact Institute — a strategic branch of United Way that moves issues forward for positive change. It’s “a think tank with an action plan,” he says.