This semester we have been focusing much of our attention with Health Educated on expanding the lead poisoning awareness project. Our main goal is to spread information about the causes and consequences of lead poisoning and teach people how to protect themselves and their loved ones from sickness. Young children are among the populations most affected by lead poisoning exposure in the home, school, and even public parks. Therefore, we are targeting our initiatives to the families of young children at the daycare centers throughout Chester. Ava and I moving forward will each be spending a few hours a week at several different daycare locations throughout Chester to share information with the parents during pickup time about lead poisoning and the resources available to them for prevention and testing.
One of the main causes of lead poisoning is the old homes that contain lead paint, many of which still exist in Chester today, that can chip and leak lead into the home. This lead exposure as a result has been proven to cause developmental and cognitive delays in children, which makes them such a vulnerable population when it comes to lead poisoning even in schools and in public parks where the soil also has traces of lead. Therefore, in reference to topics covered in our study of Chester last semester, this is quite relevant to our discussions of wealth inequality as it relates to the ownership of physical property and the impact it's had on the housing industry in Chester. Many of these homes were built prior to the federal ban on lead paint in 1978, and therefore are continuing to cause detriment to those living in the homes. These spaces that are being owned and operated by landlords and rented to residents are not necessarily being regulated in terms of maintenance like updating paint and lead pipes which is putting citizens' health at risk. Although Mayor Stefan Roots has been involved in at least one of our meetings for the Lead Task Force, I would continue to stress to the city the importance of ensuring that there are valid and enforceable regulations in place for both homeowners and landlords to keep these homes up to recent code to protect the health and wellbeing of those living in them for the sake of a healthier and more productive community.