Purpose
- The Lead-Free Communities Initiative (LFC) is a national initiative that supports communities in reducing and eliminating lead exposure hazards.
- It promotes community-led action on lead hazard elimination through a multi-sector, holistic approach to planning, coordination, and implementation.
- It promotes health equity and environmental justice, while strengthening community ties and building capacity for local collaboration.
Make an impact
Join the Lead-Free Communities Network
The LFC Network is a national learning and support network of communities focused on lead elimination. The primary objectives are to build local capacity to support effective and equitable lead hazard exposure elimination efforts. Ultimately, the LFC Network intends to build the national momentum required to support a lead-free movement in America. The LFC Network will provide communities with online resources, webinars, and an annual convening of communities.
For more information or to join the LFC Network, please contact us here: spiunit@cdc.gov.
Lead-Free Communities Toolkit
The LFC Toolkit is a resource to support communities of all sizes and varieties in lead hazard elimination. Communities will use the toolkit to develop a collaborative plan to systematically identify and eliminate lead exposure hazards. It is a roadmap for community mobilization, which local leaders are encouraged to adapt to address needs. The Toolkit offers tips for creating a local partner network to design and manage a local LFC Action Plan. It includes suggestions for implementing the plan and ensuring community input in its development. Each community is unique, so this toolkit serves as a flexible guide for community mobilization. Communities are encouraged to adapt these resources to fit their specific needs and circumstances.
Download the Lead-Free Communities Toolkit to start planning your lead poisoning prevention activities. Click here.
Accomplishments
Community Stories
These communities highlight real world examples of some of the strategies, tools, and resources referenced in the Toolkit.
National Leadership Academy
LFC provides the opportunity for community teams to participate in the National Leadership Academy for the Public's Health (NLAPH) leadership development program. This program is twelve months and supports multi-sector teams from across the county advance their leadership skills and achieve health equity in their community. NLAPH is operated by the Public Health Institute's Center for Health Leadership and Practice (CHLP) and funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NLAPH's goal is to support leaders in addressing complex public health issues in their communities, and to help them build essential skills for tackling these issues.
Previous Teams include communities from:
Resources
For details on food or medicine recalls, check with the Food and Drug Administration
For product recalls, check with the Consumer Product Safety Division
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes has resources to address lead in housing