April 3, 2023 – Syracuse, NY – Syracuse remains tragically in the grip of a lead poisoning crisis. In 2020, 32.5 percent of children had high blood lead levels in Census tract 54. The tract on the city’s South Side is 84 percent Black, and 40 percent live in poverty. It’s one neighborhood, among others throughout the area, where 100 Black Men of Syracuse serves youth living there and elevated lead blood levels have worsened. The organization is revisiting the issue, aided by a group of subject experts and community partners, on Tuesday, April 18 at 5:30 p.m. during a town hall program at the Southwest Community Center, 401 South Ave. in Syracuse.
The program’s purpose is not only to update and educate residents on the various health dangers posed by lead exposure, but to offer the knowledge and tools they can use to protect themselves and their families, according to Charles Anderson, chair of the 100 Black Men of Syracuse health and wellness committee.
“In 2019, 100 Black Men of Syracuse first hosted a community forum on lead poisoning in our city,” Anderson said. “We reported then that at least 600 children or 11 percent of the city’s children in 2017 had unsafe levels of lead in their blood. Yet, it’s unclear how much appreciable improvement is being made, even now with an influx of state and foundation money. This situation is robbing too many of our children of their potential, and it ought to be viewed not only unacceptable by anyone who cares, but everyone should want to get involved to make the current crisis a part of public health history.”
Moderating the event’s discussion, which will feature a panel of lead poisoning experts, will be Joe Driscoll, Interstate 81 Project Director for the City of Syracuse, a former three-term Syracuse Common Councilor and an activist in the fight against lead exposure. Joining Driscoll on the panel will be: Kiara Van Brackle, a community health researcher and public health consultant; Debra Lewis, Lead Poisoning Prevention Program coordinator for the Onondaga County Health Department; Darlene Medley, West Side Branch leader of Families for Lead Freedom Now! and a parent of two sons adversely affected by lead exposure; and Paul Ciavarri, a community organizer for Legal Services of Central New York.
Community partners supporting the April 18 event are: Families for Lead Freedom Now Inc., Home HeadQuarters, Housing Visions, Legal Services of Central New York, Onondaga Community College, Onondaga County Health Department and YMCA of CNY. Admission is free and open to the public for the April 18 program. Attendees are asked to pre-register at https://forms.office.com/r/CCHLEtYT8M.
