Lead poisoning is the number one environmental health threat to children, and also considered the most preventable.

You may know that the week of October 22 is National Lead Poising Prevention Week -- although we work year round to protect our children from lead. Here are some important steps to keep your children healthy and create a safe place for them to live, learn and grow:

• Check the year your home was built. Homes built before 1978 may have lead-based paint. Find out the year your house was built by asking your neighbors for a date range, checking online at Zillow.com, visiting your Tax Assessor’s Office or calling a realtor.
• Update your home. It’s best to fix all of the deteriorated paint around the house using lead-safe work practices. Sanding, replacing doors and windows and other common renovation activities can create hazardous lead dust. Hire contractors certified by EPA, which are trained on how to minimize the dust and cleaning thoroughly.
• Get your child tested for lead. Ask your doctor to test your child for lead, or follow EHC on Facebook and Twitter to find out when we schedule our next free lead testing. There is no lead safe level.
• Remove lead-contaminated toys and jewelry. Visit this Consumer Safety Product Commission website to find out if your toys and jewelry contain lead.
• Choose nutritious foods. A healthy diet helps prevent lead absorption into the body. Give children foods rich in iron, calcium and vitamin C.
• Watch what you bring home. Don't take lead home with you! If you work in auto repair, shipbuilding, construction, demolition, steel welding or other industrial work places, don’t forget to wash your hands and face, change your clothes and dust off your shoes before walking into your home.
• Keep lead out of schools. Support statewide bill AB746 to protect children from lead in schools by signing our letter here.

Lead causes learning disabilities, stunts growth, reduces IQ, causes aggressive behavior and is linked to teenage pregnancy and juvenile delinquency. Together, let’s do everything we can to ensure a healthy future for our children.

Leticia Ayala
Campaign Director, Healthy Kids

La noche era fresca, pero era suficiente un suéter delgado y el calor de la fogata para disfrutar de las estrellas, la compañía y las buenas pláticas.

Llegamos al evento alrededor de 60 personas. El Arroyo Alamar nos recibió con nuevos brazos de arroyitos que se formaron desde las lluvias de febrero. Estaba verde y vibrante y los mosquitos eran una fiesta que había que alejar si no querías pasar la noche rascándote los brazos, pero nadie se quejaba porque estábamos felices de compartir ese inesperado bosque en medio de la zona industrial de Tijuana.

El evento comenzó desde la tarde, alrededor de las cinco y media y conforme íbamos llegando íbamos instalando las casas de campaña. Empezamos por dar una caminata por el bosque ripario en donde nos platicaron de las plantas y animales de la zona. Conocimos diferentes yerbas medicinales que se dan de forma natural ahí y que por generaciones han servido para apaciguar los síntomas como dolores de cabeza, fiebre y dolores de estómago por la gente que solía tener ranchos en esa zona.

Llegamos al “árbol del ahorcado” donde nos platicaron las historias de miedo que platicaban los abuelos de la zona. Y valerosamente regresamos al campamento antes de que se oscureciera para evitar cualquier encuentro sobrenatural no planeado en el programa.

Cuando llegamos a la zona de campamento, el equipo de Scouts ya estaba iniciando la fogata.

Mientras seguía llegando la gente, los scouts coordinaron cantos y ceremonias alrededor de la hoguera, mientras platicábamos y preparábamos la cena para compartir que todos trajimos. A las nueve de la noche dimos la bienvenida general ya con toda la gente alrededor de fuego. Platicamos sobre la importancia del Alamar para las comunidades cercanas y de los beneficios que presta a la zona. De cómo es un rio binacional que nos recuerda que a pesar de los muros somos una misma región, con la misma gente, la misma agua y el mismo aire.

En seguida se presentó el grupo de danza africana “Proyecto Danza Afro Tj” que nos recordaron nuestra historia, raíces y al latido de la tierra con sus tambores y su danza. Y como no hay campamento que sea memorable sin una guitarra, el compañero Guillermo Guadalajara interpretó canciones de canto nuevo que nos recordaron que todos estamos conectados. La noche siguió y seguimos.

Amaneció a las 5:30 de la mañana ya con los chilaquiles en la fogata y el café y los frijoles calientes. Nos despedimos todos con una sonrisa por haber hecho nuestro por esa noche ese bosque y porque estamos seguros de que ese espacio es de todos y para todos y que seguramente no será el último campamento en el Alamar.

#ElAlamarEsDeTodos #ViveElAlamar

Aníbal Méndez
Community Organizer, Border Environmental Justice Campaign

Barrio Logan is at a crossroads.

Our neighborhood has come far in the fight for environmental justice, yet we remain threatened by industrial pollution and resident displacement. By joining our BarrioLive! tour and making a contribution, you join us in our mission for a safe and healthy neighborhood.

What is BarrioLive?
Our guided neighborhood tour highlights the spirit and struggles of environmental justice in our community. You’ll meet residents and learn about the history, victories and challenges of Barrio Logan, such as:

• The shutdown of Master Plating
• The creation of the Chicano Community Herb Garden and Mural
• The transition of the Port’s Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal to non-polluting freight technology
• The impacts of discriminatory land use and zoning on the community

When is BarrioLive?
Join us on October 19 for the BarrioLive! Tour followed by a community mixer.

Tour: The tour will begin at 3:30 p.m. at Border X Brewing (2181 Logan Ave, 92113). Parking is tight in this area, but there is a parking lot in Chicano Park, just two blocks away. The tour includes a walking component of close to 20 minutes, so please wear comfortable shoes.

Mixer: The mixer will begin immediately following the tour, going form 5:30-7 p.m. at Border X Brewing. Guests can expect to enjoy vegetarian tacos, small snacks, beer and wine. There is a suggested contribution is $10/person for non-tour guests, and live music will play after 7 p.m. for guests who wish to stay longer. Thank you San Diego Green Drinks for partnering with us for our mixer.

Want to experience our BarrioLive! tour?
Seats are limited and go quickly, so please click here to reserve yours before we sell out.

Tickets are $100 and include the tour, tour packet, EHC water bottle, snacks, mixer admission and food and beverages. Your contribution directly supports our work to build a healthier Barrio Logan from the ground up.

For more information or interest in sponsorship, contact Giuliana Schroeder at 619.773.2132 Esta dirección de correo electrónico está siendo protegida contra los robots de spam. Necesita tener JavaScript habilitado para poder verlo..
We hope you can join us.

In Barrio Logan, the community-inspired and created murals of Chicano Park surround us. The historic place reminds us every day of the neighborhood’s rich history and the deep roots art has in our community.

For the first time ever, we’re collaborating with the Chicano Park Steering Committee, muralist Alicia M. Siu, residents and students from Barrio Logan College Institute (BLCI) to guide a new mural right behind the Chicano Park Herb Garden.

The goal? Develop a mural that illustrates Barrio Logan’s message of unity and resilience while empowering our youth to continue the movement for environmental justice.

With a series of community workshops, we’ve cultivated and grown the collective vision of this mural and what it stands for. More than 70 people of all ages from our neighborhood attended both workshops to provide ideas that will guide the local muralist, Alicia M. Siu, to draft a proposal for the design that the Chicano Park Steering Committee will approve.

We watched as our friends, teachers, colleagues, students and family members came together to share their passion for our neighborhood and its cultural resilience. It’s the people behind this mural that inspire us to work closely on this project in our community of Barrio Logan.

On August 15, residents of Old Town National City joined us to demand National City Council prohibit pollution from local auto body shop Perry Ford.

Perry Ford has been operating without permits and against zoning requirements established by National City’s Westside Specific Plan, which passed in 2010.

Residents of the Paradise Creek Park Apartments approached City Council one by one to express frustration about Perry Ford operating close to homes and schools in the neighborhood.

Alicia Sanchez, a longtime community member who was initially involved in drafting the Westside Specific Plan, took a moment to remind everyone how imperative it is to prohibit pollution in communities if we truly want #healthyhoods.

Thank you to National City Councilmembers Alejandra Sotelo-Solis, Mona Rios, Jerry Cano and Albert Mendivil made the right decision to uphold the Old Town National City Westside Specific Plan and prevent toxic businesses from contaminating where we live, work and play.

Thank you to every community member who made this victory a possibility and put us one step closer to achieving our vision of environmental justice in National City.

To join our movement, please click here.