Shawnette Taylor - OPP City scan
A LIFE-ALTERING EXPERIENCE
I started with Our Piece of the Pie in summer 2006 as a trainer for City Scan, a program that works on social justice issues within the city. Not knowing what to expect, I was nervous because teenagers comes different attitudes…
We had a partnership with the City of Hartford’s Public Health and Human Services Department to get information out to the communities about lead poisoning and nuisance control. We received training to prepare us for the canvassing we were about to do. I share this story because it is a learning experience I will never forget because of the impact it had on our youth and myself.
Limited Knowledge
What I knew of lead at that particular time is it existed in pencils and paint chips and if eaten it could harm you but treatment was available. Lead actually existed in paint, giving a lasting effect; homes built before 1978 used this paint that had high levels of lead. If paint started to chip, toddlers (who explore with their mouths) can get this poisoning.
What I was learning took me to another level 
Shawnette Taylor (OPP City Scan)
Lead not only being in the paint but dust in window sills, and in the soil; lead could be swallowed and inhaled. If a child was playing outside with toys and it fell on that soil that had high levels of lead, has now contaminated that toy; child put the toy in he/she mouth; they have now gotten lead poisoning.
Reality Hurts
My enthusiasm came with how intent our youth were (on finding more information) by asking question after question to get an understanding why children six years and under were the most high risk. The youth were upset to find that it was children in the urban cities that were most at risk for lead poisoning. You could feel the passion in them rising to get this out to their community.
A Challenging Plan of Action
They came together to form a brochure to distribute to people. Though their passion was still there to get the word out about lead poisoning, the youth thought they would pass out from the hot and humid weather while trying to do it. So, with a little pep talk, we finally got ourselves together and handled are mission. It was hot to death out there and even I wanted to go in for some cool air, but I trooped it all the way keeping the youth focused on the children in the city lead harmed the most.
Making a Difference
After three grueling hot days of canvassing, we moved on to the next project. Then, word got back to us. A parent got a hold of our brochure and called the Lead Program to have their child to be tested. That child had high levels of lead - high enough to cause death. The child was hospitalized and the Lead Program was able to go back to the home where the child lived and move all the families with other children out to a safer place. That is when I realized we did something. We saved a life.
