Where are Children being Lead Poisoned Toledo’s Community efforts to Prevent Lead Poisoning Larry J. Sykes Councilman at Large City of Toledo Robert A. Cole Attorney at Law Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc.

Where are Children being Lead Poisoned Each year hundreds of children in Toledo get lead poisoning from living older rental properties that have lead paint. Many of the rental property owners in Toledo do maintain their properties and are not the source of the lead poisoning occurring in Toledo.

Lead in a child’s body can: Small amounts of lead Even small amounts of lead can cause very serious harm to the brain and other parts of the nervous system. Lead in a child’s body can: Slow down growth and development Damage hearing and speech Cause behavior problems Make it hard to pay attention and learn

Homes in Toledo built before 1978 Many homes in Toledo built before 1978 have lead paint on the inside and outside of the building. When old paint cracks and peels it makes lead dust. Children get lead poisoning from swallowing flakes of paint or paint dust on their hands and toys. Children can also breathe in lead dust.

Working with the Community to develop a solution Community empowerment is more than involvement, participation, or engagement of the community. It implies community ownership and action that explicitly aims at social and political change.

Community Participation and Empowerment Strategies support for grassroots community-level development and capacity-building; the establishment and strengthening of networks and infrastructures for communities and professionals working to enable participation; and a commitment to meaningful organizational development, to ensure that grassroots action for participation feeds into and influences the mainstream.

Community Empowerment Dimensions Community empowerment is about working in ways which empower people – ways which mean that people feel ‘confident’, that they – and the groups they are involved in – are inclusive and organized, that networks are formed, are cooperative and support each other and – ultimately – they are influential.

Toledo Lead Poisoning Prevention Coalition and Community Involvement Support the development of a community based coalition. a. Include organizations and community groups with a shared interest in a solution to a significant problem identified by the community. b. Make sure that community members, who are directly impacted by the “problem,” are included in the coalition and have a voice in the solution to the “problem.” c. Support the development of guiding principles and clearly identified outcomes that the group hopes to accomplish.

Stronger and Effective Coalition With the community needs clearly outlined by the community itself, the coalition was able to better develop proposal to address lead poisoning using a primary preventive approach. Additionally, our coalition of community groups, community members and community partners created a unified approach that allowed us to develop and implement a strategy resulting in the adoption of a Lead Safe Rental Property Ordinance by the City of Toledo.

What is the purpose of the ordinance? The purpose of the law is to prevent children from becoming lead poisoned, and to ensure they live in lead-safe housing by requiring residential rental property owners to verify that a property rented to children is lead safe. Despite years of progress, each year significant numbers of children in Toledo suffer the irreparable harm of lead poisoning because of exposure to deteriorated lead paint and lead dust in their homes. A significant number of these children are living with their families in rental units.

What does the ordinance require? FIRST: If you own (1) any residential unit constructed as a single family home and built prior to 1978 and (2) any residential unit constructed as a duplex and built prior to 1978, you will be required to register the rental property with the Toledo Lucas County Health Department.

What does the proposed ordinance require? SECOND: In addition to submitting a completed application to register the rental property, you will need to provide a report from and Lead Hazard Assessment indicating that the property has passed an inspection for lead hazards.

What does the proposed ordinance require? THIRD: If the property fails any of these inspections, then the property owner must eliminate the hazards identified by the assessment, have the property re-inspected and provide a report that the property has passed the inspection in order to register the property.

Certificate of Compliance Once a residential rental property has registered and the inspection indicates that the property is “Lead Safe” then a certificate of compliance is issued to the property owner.

Contact Information Larry J. Sykes Councilman at Large City of Toledo (419) 245-1050 Larry.Sykes@Toledo.OH.gov Robert A. Cole Managing Attorney Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (419)930-2503 RCole@ABLELaw.org