Agency Hosts Lead Awareness Event
MVCAP hosted the Ohio Lead Free Kids Coalition and the Ohio Healthy Homes Network for a special event highlighting National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week.
MVCAP uses its partnership with the Corporation for Ohio Appalachian Development to train weatherization crews and home repair professionals on how to safely abate lead in older homes.
MVCAP also serves as the lead entity for the new Southwest Ohio Lead Safe Collaborative and administers the Lead Safe Ohio Program for Montgomery County.
“MVCAP is one of the few organizations in Southwest Ohio with certified lead abatement contractors and inspectors on staff,” said MVCAP President and CEO Erin Jeffries. “Together, we’re coordinating services, improving aging homes and training the next generation of skilled workers who can keep housing safe and affordable.”
Ohio ranks second in the nation in the number of children who have elevated levels of lead in their blood. In Ohio, 5.2% of children have Elevated Blood Lead Levels (EBLLs) while the national rate is 1.9 percent.
“Lead is a massive problem across the state that threatens the health of our children,” said Fred Strahorn, Executive Director of the Ohio Healthy Homes Network, a member of the Coalition. “The good news is we can solve it. We just need to find the resources to address it and ultimately prevent lead exposure before it harms our children.”
Several speakers noted that once lead paint was banned in homes in 1978, many people assumed the problem was taken care of. Yet, as many as two thirds of Ohio’s homes are old enough to contain lead paint.
In Montgomery County alone, 75% of homes were built before 1978 and the county contains 24 ZIP codes identified as having a high risk of lead exposure. Montgomery County Health Commissioner Jennifer Wentzel said her staff has already identified 189 cases in the county in 2025.
“We can fix this issue,” said Timothy Johnson, on behalf of the Ohio Lead Free Kids Coalition. “We are not putting lead paint in new homes. So, it’s not a matter of can we do this. It’s do we have the will, and the desire and the resources to get this done. It’s a finite issue. The problem is fixable.”
Participants also heard from Mike Squire of the Easton neighborhood whose four children were exposed to lead when he needed to paint the exterior of his historic home. The cost of remediation, temporary relocation, replacement of furniture and fixtures paled in comparison to feelings of fear and failure, he said.
“There was nothing more demoralizing and just feeling like we had let our kids down,” Squire said, noting that many more resources are now available for families. “You’ve taken us from that place of helplessness to being able to take that next step to get tested and actually have a resource to deal with it.”
Ohio Senator Willis Blackshear presented Jeffries with a commendation for the agency’s work to address lead in homes. State Representative Andrea White (R-Kettering) and Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims also provided supportive comments and encouraged ongoing work and advocacy.
