United Parents Against Lead: Measuring the Success of Community Involvement and Public Outreach Programs
Presented by: Vance Evans and Randy Sturgeon, Region 3, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and Cynthia Mendy and Zakia Shabazz, United Parents Against Lead

Lead Poisoning, a topic of current interest, is the number one environmental threat to children's health. United Parents Against Lead (UPAL) was organized to increase public awareness of childhood lead poisoning. UPAL is a National organization with eight state chapters (Virginia, Illinois, Michigan, Vermont, Georgia, North Carolina, Maine, New York). State chapters work in their communities providing outreach and information on childhood lead poisoning prevention. Partnerships with HUD, the Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, The Community Tool Box for Children's Environmental Health, local and state health departments, and other national children's advocacy organizations, have promoted and implemented public participation that has positively impacted and empowered at-risk communities.

This presentation serves as a model and a guide to community based organizations on how to work effectively with various levels of governmental agencies. The goal of this presentation is to demonstrate how UPAL was formed, designed, and implemented in response to community involvement challenges, the most important being how to effectively address and present the issue of lead poisoning to capture the interest of the general public. The presentation will share positive results and successes, how to avoid the pitfalls, and lessons learned. It also will include audience participation and interaction.

No additional materials are available for this session