Healthy Homes Initiative

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FACTS

  • National studies state that race and class are strong determinates of exposure to lead. In fact, lead is one of the root cause of racial/socio-economic disparities in educational, health, and economic outcomes.

  • Rates of lead poisoning in Cleveland are 2-3x higher than rates in Flint, Michigan, and are even higher in Slavic Village.

  • In 2016, nearly 20% of children in Slavic Village had elevated blood lead levels, 56% being between five and nine years old (CCBH). 

  • In 2018, lead testing detected a +30% toxicity rate among children in three schools in Slavic Village.

  • At these levels, children are likely to experience reduced IQ, learning disabilities, reading problems, delinquency, criminal behavior, antisocial behavior, and developmental delays, causing children to start school already disadvantaged.

  • The effects of lead exposure are PERMANENT and cannot be reversed.

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Thanks to the work of community groups and the Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition (LSCC), Cleveland recently passed a lead safe housing law, which will move the City in line with federal and state best practices by testing houses for lead before a child becomes poisoned rather than after. This model shifts from secondary prevention (testing for lead after a child is exposed) to primary prevention (the removal of lead hazards before a child is exposed), as recommended by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Under this law, portions of Cleveland’s housing stock must become lead safe by 2021. Because it is prohibitively expensive to make a property lead free, it is more feasible to make a property lead safe by removing lead hazards. Despite the progress made in passing this law, advocates still don’t have a model for how to make a neighborhood lead safe, and local experts disagree on the range of cost expected.

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We recognize the need to remove the structural barriers so each kid starts school with a healthy brain.  We want to reduce the negative effects of lead as much as possible, and remove these health barriers to childhood growth and achievement.

The Healthy Homes Initiative includes investigating, conducting outreach, doing an assessment of homes and families, and finally abating lead and asthma triggers from 250 homes in surrounding area of the new building - 5115 The Rising Apartments in Slavic Village.

This will be the first Lead Safe neighborhood in Cleveland.

This project will also be used as a blueprint for other communities to replicate. We will share our findings, processes, and knowledge to ensure the success of other neighborhoods that wish to embark on this journey of becoming a Lead Safe Neighborhood.

Partners

University Settlement
Slavic Village Development
Environmental Health Watch
Enterprise Partners
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland Lead Safe Coalition
The City of Cleveland
Cuyahoga County

For more information about the Healthy Homes Initiative, please click here.

To learn more about lead and how to protect your family, please visit the US Environmental Protection Agency website.