Lead Freedom House opens to shelter families during lead cleanup

A South Side house that once posed a lead risk is about to become a short-term refuge for Syracuse families pushed out while their own homes are made safe. The Lead Freedom House at 1216 South Ave. is slated for a June 16 grand opening and will provide temporary lodging during lead cleanup, giving parents a place to stay while workers remove hazards from their primary residences.

The two-family home was built for that purpose, with three bedrooms in each unit so it can house families for three to six weeks during abatement work. Volunteers and project leaders said the house was not just repaired but reimagined: lead pipes were replaced, the building was repainted, the yard was returfed, and the project included plumbing, electrical and HVAC rough-ins along with volunteer sheetrock installation. The goal, project leaders said, is a welcoming place where families do not have to choose between lead removal and having somewhere decent to sleep.

The project carried a reported budget of $265,000. State Sen. Rachel May secured $200,000, and A Tiny Home for Good covered the remaining cost. Andrew Lunetta, the organization’s director, said the project expanded its mission because the need for transitional housing for lead-affected families could not be ignored. The house stands next door to A Tiny Home for Good’s Syracuse headquarters, tying the effort to a long-running local push to turn vacant or damaged properties into usable housing.

Families for Lead Freedom Now, a Syracuse-based nonprofit led by families directly affected by childhood lead poisoning, helped drive that push from the start. Co-chair Oceanna Fair said her family dealt with lead remediation in 2019, and co-chair Darlene Medley said she began speaking out after her young twins tested positive for lead in 2019. Their involvement underscores why the Lead Freedom House matters beyond bricks and paint: for families facing lead cleanup, the disruption is immediate, and the stakes for children can last for years.

That urgency is backed by local data. An Earthjustice report cited official testing results showing that 9% of Syracuse children tested in 2023 had elevated blood lead levels above 5 micrograms per deciliter. The same report said that in Onondaga County in 2021, more than 11.6% of Black children had elevated blood lead levels, compared with 2.0% of white children.

City and county programs already work on the problem. Syracuse’s Lead Hazard Control Office identifies and removes lead-based paint hazards, the Syracuse Lead Grant Program helps qualifying homeowners and tenants pay for remediation, and the Onondaga County Health Department tracks local lead data and provides follow-up services for affected children. The Lead Freedom House is meant to fill one painful gap in that system: where a family goes while the cleanup is happening.