Residents Rally for Clean Drinking Water
Coalition On Lead Emergency pushes for action, some city officials pledge to help.
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
- Baldwin Delivers $850,000 to Reduce Lead in Schools and Childcare Facilities Throughout Wisconsin - U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin - Aug 29th, 2024
- Baldwin Delivers Over $83 Million to Replace Lead Pipes, Expand Access to Safe Drinking Water - U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin - May 2nd, 2024
- Congresswoman Gwen Moore Statement on Milwaukee Designation as Workforce Hub - U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore - Apr 26th, 2024
- Biden Announces Milwaukee As New “Workforce Hub” For Lead Pipe Removal - Jeramey Jannene - Apr 25th, 2024
- Senator Baldwin Delivers Nearly $2 Million to Keep Wausau Families Safe from Lead Contamination - U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin - Apr 12th, 2024
- IRS Rules that Homeowners Won’t Have to Pay Additional Taxes for Subsidized Replacement of Lead Pipes - Milwaukee Water Works - Feb 29th, 2024
- Milwaukee Makes It Far Easier To Replace Your Lead Service Line - Jeramey Jannene - Dec 18th, 2023
- Congresswoman Gwen Moore Praises Biden Administration Effort to Remove Lead Pipes in 10 Years - U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore - Nov 30th, 2023
- Biden-Harris Administration Announces Partnership with 10 Wisconsin Communities to Accelerate Lead Service Line Replacement as Part of Investing in America Agenda - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Nov 2nd, 2023
- Evers, DNR Announce $402 Million Funding to Improve Local Drinking Water - Henry Redman - Oct 24th, 2023
Read more about Lead Crisis here