Our Trenton hub leader, Shereyl Snider of the East Trenton Collaborative, recently sat down with a community member, Lennie, to hear his story on lead poisoning. When Lennie's son was in the second grade, they enjoyed doing spelling contests and math problems together. His son was clearly very sharp, according to Lennie. When his son was in the 3rd grade, however, Lennie noticed that his son was no longer able to pay attention, his speech was impaired, and he wasn’t doing his homework. He was held back in school twice—in 3rd and 4th grade.

Luckily, Lennie had neighbors who were special education teachers. They advised him to have his son tested for elevated blood lead levels (EBLL). Unfortunately, Lennie found out that his son had lead poisoning. However, he now understood the issue and could take action. Lennie received help for his son thanks to his neighbors who referred him to the Mercer County School Special Services Division (MCSSSD) in West Windsor, NJ. Lennie explained that his son had to learn how to read all over again, and that his reading comprehension is still a work-in-progress. Nonetheless, Lennie said his son graduated Trenton High School on time, and is living a well-adjusted life in his thirties with a family of his own.

Lennie’s story emphasizes how important it is to have your young children screened for lead levels. So many families don’t even know that their children may be exposed to lead and the subsequent health impacts associated with lead exposure. Be sure to ask your pediatrician to test your children for lead levels. If they don’t have a lab in their office, they will ask you to visit the lab as a follow-up appointment. If you live in Trenton and are undocumented or uninsured, you can visit Henry J. Austin Clinic (609) 815-7296 or Capital Health (609)-394-6000.

Important update! Paterson Habitat for Humanity changed their name to Passaic County Habitat for Humanity on January 1, 2023. This name will support the organization’s strategic expansion to serve Passaic County. Learn more here. Website: https://www.habitatpc.org/

On January 14, Newark Water Coalition (NWC) held an event to celebrate the release of its report entitled “The Mobile Lead Testing Unit Report.” This report shares the results of the research NWC conducted with 300 Newark City homes. The team tested these homes for lead in paint, water, soil and dust. At the event, the team members demonstrated their testing methodology for the audience. They hope this work will raise awareness around the serious nature of lead in our homes and lives and help to expand this research in Newark and other cities.

NWC is also proud to have submitted a paper for publication titled, "Community scientists of the Newark Water Coalition are a new dawn for community owned and managed research projects: The Mobile Lead Initiative" to the academic journal Environmental Justice Special Issue: Liberation Science: Using Liberation Pedagogies and Knowledge Systems to Build Communities of Resistance to Address Environmental and Climate Injustices. The team also secured funding to open a training academy; purchased a X-ray fluorescence (XRF) gun to continue to lead testing; submitted a chapter to a machine learning textbook called, Mitigating Bias in Machine Learning by McGraw Hill, titled, "Community Engagement Methods in Machine Learning" and are working on starting a public research institute called “The People's Public Lab,” based in Newark, NJ. 2023 is going to be another exciting year at Newark Water Coalition!

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