Women for a Healthy Environment will educate environmental justice communities about the sources and health impacts of lead exposure, as well as provide solutions that reduce lead exposure. - Women for a Healthy Environment (WHE) is a nonprofit focused on addressing environmental exposures that impact public health. The organization uses a scientific approach to achieve equitable lives free of environmental hazards through advocacy and community-based programs. WHE envisions a world where everyone has access to a healthy environment. Our project aims to conduct outreach, education and advocacy training on lead sources, its health impacts and methods to reduce exposure to environmental justice communities across Allegheny County, PA, particularly focusing on high priority neighborhoods identified by numbers of children with elevated blood lead levels (EBLL). It is estimated that 80% of the housing stock in Allegheny County was built before 1978, the year lead was banned from paint. Between 2015 and 2021, 2,927 young children were identified as having elevated blood lead levels (EBLLs), as new cases reported to Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD). And ACHD data informs us that children residing in primarily Black and brown neighborhoods are poisoned by lead at four times the rate of children living in predominantly white neighborhoods. Through this grant application, we will 1) provide targeted lead education and advocacy resources to families in priority neighborhoods, especially to households with children ages zero to six 2) develop creative storytelling to help support and educate families about the risk of lead and how to reduce exposure and 3) create lead education resources and workshops for those who have language barriers. All three CDC strategies will be utilized – activate the community, improve access to services, and educate the community. Our activities include the following: bring together community members and advance local collaborations with community groups on lead education, reducing exposure and furthering primary prevention; connect families with children who have an EBLL to county resources (ACHD investigations, lead hazard control grant and early intervention services, as well as legal aid); and share the experiences of families of children with EBLLs widely. Our goals include increasing the number of residents educated about lead exposure and advancing strategies for reducing risk (including those with language barriers), training community lead-safe champions who will inform and educate policy makers and educating elected officials. Ultimately, our outcome is increased lead poisoning prevention capacity in underserved communities, more connections to local resources, and increased community awareness and knowledge of lead exposure risks and potential mitigation strategies. WHE’s significant community engagement and focused programming in environmental justice communities makes it an ideal partner for this funding initiative. WHE will build upon its lead coalition experience, to focus on engaging community members at the neighborhood level through educational programming, story sharing and advocacy training to better inform policy makers. Together with residents and community stakeholders, WHE will educate and mobilize a community of advocates to reduce exposure to lead across Allegheny County improving the lives of children for generations to come.
