CLEVELAND — Darrick Wade of Cleveland stood in front of Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority headquarters on the 16th anniversary of his son's death, calling for greater lead poisoning safety measures.
Wade reports he lost his 24-year-old son Demetrius in 2007 due to complications from lead poisoning and said he believes his son may have been exposed to lead while the family was living in a CMHA unit more than 30 years ago.
Wade is hoping CMHA will take more urgent measures, using millions in federal money it receives from HUD to more quickly mitigate potential lead paint hazards in its older housing units.
"What will the CMHA Board of Directors do with this money to clean up the hazards that affect CMHA residents,” Wade said. “This is unacceptable; this is unacceptable behavior because we’re in another generation with the lead issue."
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Wade told News 5 that potential lead paint hazards aren't the only possible issue at CMHA properties, which are made up of some 10,500 housing units.
“All of the public housing sites should be tested for lead in the soil,” Wade said. “We must do more and be more diligent to get in control of this lead issue.”
Members of Cleveland Lead Advocates for Safe Housing, or CLASH, and Black on Black Crime Inc. also stood in front of CMHA headquarters on Sept. 15. Black on Black President Al Porter told News 5 that a growing number of studies continue to confirm the link between lead poisoning and behavioral issues in juveniles. Porter said new studies are now trying to correlate a link between lead poisoning and a greater propensity to commit crimes later in life.
“We’re going a couple of decades now, and we’re laying everything right now on CMHA to do the right thing,” Porter said. "Cleveland, our region, we have a problem, this high lead-crime hypothesis. In Summit County, Pepper Pike, Mentor, no, it wouldn’t be tolerated, but it’s tolerated because the overseers here expect the people to stay silent.”
News 5 contacted CMHA headquarters for this story, and it responded immediately. CMHA said it's taking great measures to lower lead paint risk, calling on certified lead assessors to inspect CMHA units every time a new family moves in or a unit changes hands.
CMHA pointed to major construction and renovation projects taking place at multiple properties, like the 487 new units being built at its Woodhill property and 143 new units at Carver Park, some of which will be available for occupancy in mid-October.
CMHA told News 5 residents who have lead concerns can call the work order line at 216-271-2158, with more tenant resourcesposted on its webpage.
Still, Wade said he will continue to push for higher lead safety protocols in memory of the son lost.
“I think about my son Demetrius who passed this day 16 years ago, all the time," Wade said. “Just before he died, he said, 'Dad, what’s going to happen to me,' and I said, 'Demetrius, you’re going to be a living legend.'”
