Residents Rally for Clean Drinking Water
Coalition On Lead Emergency pushes for action, some city officials pledge to help.

Community members show their support for the Birthing Moms pilot program. “This is arguably the most important gift they will receive along with the gift that comes with education,” says the Rev. Mary Martha Kannass, the pastor of Hephatha Lutheran Church. Photo by Princess Safiya Byers/NNS.
Crying mothers shared stories of when they found out their child had lead poisoning.
Children marched through the audience chanting, “Stop lead! Stop lead!”
And community leaders spoke on the importance of children living lead-free lives.
For two hours last month during a summit at the Hephatha Lutheran Church, 1720 W. Locust St., residents shared emotional stories of their experiences with lead poisoning and their support for one solution: the Birthing Moms pilot program.
The program would provide lead education kits and a certified filtering pitcher after mothers give birth. The mothers would receive the pitcher from the Milwaukee Health Department before they left the hospital.
Several city officials who were at the meeting pledged to support $240,000 in funding for the pilot program as a part of the City of Milwaukee’s 2020 budget.
“As a father, my job is to care about family,” Ald. Nik Kovac said. “And really, we are each other’s family in this city. And there should be no child that doesn’t experience clean water, clean food, clean air and a clean home that will not poison them.”
The Coalition On Lead Emergency, or COLE, arranged the summit to inform, engage, educate and gather support from local officials on the proposal.
The Milwaukee lead crisis has been a topic of controversy in Milwaukee for some time. Knowing how children are affected, residents are demanding that something be done.
Elizabeth Brown, a community member, said, “As a mother who has had children contract lead poisoning, I think the bill is a good idea. Though my children were OK after they contracted it, they had some struggles that could have been avoided had they not contracted lead poisoning.”
In May 2018, the Hephatha church partnered with neighborhood organizations such as the Dominican Center to form COLE. Members include the African American Breastfeeding Network, Amani United, the Dominican Center, Leaders Igniting Transformation and many more.
The goal “is to organize people to fight for a lead-free Milwaukee,” said Richard Diaz, who is the Amani community organizer for the Dominican Center.
This story was originally published by Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, where you can find other stories reporting on fifteen city neighborhoods in Milwaukee.
More about the Lead Crisis
- MTEA Statement on Lead Exposure in MPS Buildings - Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association - Apr 30th, 2025
- Statement from Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez on Lead Hazards in MPS Buildings - Sup. Juan Miguel Martinez - Apr 29th, 2025
- MPS Closing Two More Schools For Lead Hazards - Jeramey Jannene - Apr 28th, 2025
- Milwaukee Public Schools Enters New Phase of Lead Cleanup - Milwaukee Public Schools - Apr 28th, 2025
- What To Know and How To Keep Kids Safe From Lead Poisoning - Evan Casey - Apr 25th, 2025
- Congresswoman Gwen Moore and Senator Tammy Baldwin Urge HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to Reinstate Childhood Lead Poisoning Experts at CDC, Push for Approval of Milwaukee’s Request for Federal Assistance - U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore - Apr 23rd, 2025
- MPS’s Fernwood School to Reopen Following Lead Remediation Work - Milwaukee Public Schools - Apr 22nd, 2025
- Milwaukee School Board May Sue Paint Companies Over Lead Crisis - Evan Casey - Apr 19th, 2025
- Trump Administration Axed Federal Employees Needed for MPS Lead Crisis - Jeramey Jannene - Apr 14th, 2025
- New MPS Superintendent Dumps Beleaguered Facilities Director - Jeramey Jannene - Apr 3rd, 2025
Read more about Lead Crisis here