MILWAUKEE — The Social Development Commission hosted a ceremony Friday on Milwaukee’s north side to celebrate its latest lead-abated house.
Khousheng Moua’s family has owned his home since the 1990s. He and his mother just moved back in now that crews have eliminated the threat of lead-based paint.
Moua said he feels great comfort because he no longer must worry about the potential danger of lead poisoning for himself or his family.
“I would say it is a relief just because now I know that the house is lead safe, my family can breathe a little bit easier, live a little bit healthier,” said Moua.
Ofelia Mondragon is with Milwaukee’s Social Development Commission. She said Milwaukee alone has over 100,000 homes with lead-based paint. In the State of Wisconsin, there’s over 400,000 homes with this problem.
Mondragon said every year, in Milwaukee, two thousand children under the age of six years old are exposed to lead poisoning.
“Lead poisoning is dangerous it causes damage into their brain especially when they are developing and they are growing, and the impact, now you are dealing with kids that have learning disabilities, they can’t concentrate, they have lower IQ’s and then the health impact that those children have is permanent, you know, it’s irreversible,” said Mondragon.
The Lead-Safe program is funded through a grant from the Department of Health Services. It provides lead inspections and assessments to pinpoint lead hazards. It also provides the means to fix or control the lead hazards.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said this effort is crucial for the health and well-being of children.
“There is no safe level of lead in any child’s bloodstream, so in addition to our focus on containing as well as eliminating the lead exposure from old paint, Milwaukee is making a concerted effort to take care of any potential lead source that could also harm our kids,” Johnson said.