Hi, my name is Anaberlys. I am a mother to 5 children, 3 of those under the age of 5. In 2019, my husband and I bought our first home. We were very excited at the time, planning our forever home, a pool for the 2 kids we had at the time, watching them grow and be happy. We fixed the house, did lots of upgrades, and moved in at the end of January 2020. A month later, I found out I was expecting. Our dreams for our family and our house grew even more. Little did we know that the house was going to end up harming our children.
When my third child, Enzo, turned 1 year old, as it is required by law to have labs done, we found out our baby had lead in his blood. At this time, doctors decided to keep an eye on it. Six months later, the test was repeated, and the lead had gone up. Six more months passed, and the lead kept going up. We found out the reason for this was our home. Thankfully, we had already updated most of the house, but the windows, the kitchen, the bathroom, the siding, the grass, the basement, the porch, and so on still have lead. So, we entered into the lead program. The CT Health Department contacted us, Healthy Homes as well, to help us make our house lead-safe. It’s been years applying and applying to grants through them and then waiting. It’s been years being told, “Your house is next, we are helping you.” I have felt hopeful and happy so many times with the promises that we can be helped, and then our hopes have been crushed those many times with, “Money is gone, and you have to apply again.”
Today, I can’t keep letting time pass. That baby is almost 5 years old, who has had many issues due to the high lead levels. Issues that mimic autism, but yet he doesn’t fit in the autism criteria. The harm that lead has done to his brain is not scientifically expected to heal ever. But as a mother, I have faith that God can help him. I have learned how to bring his lead down, from getting creative mixing greens and fruits to make yummy popsicles, doing clay baths, extending breastfeeding to the present time, but most importantly by praying to God to help us. His lead has stayed under 20 in the past year. God has blessed me with 2 more babies after Enzo, his brother Aldo (3) and his new baby sister Mariana (6m). For the past year, I have been able to keep Aldo’s lead level under 15. And the baby was checked when she was a month old and had a 3.3 lead level.
Today, I was told yet again I have to fill out another application for help. Today, I am exhausted from filling applications, of recurrent lab work and seeing my kids being traumatized over and over, of being told money is gone, of feeling hopeless. I need help making my kids’ home lead-safe. Today, I ask for your generosity to help me make our home lead-safe. I can’t keep waiting on empty promises. I can’t keep letting my kids be affected by our home. We have already tried to sell the house and buy another one, but it’s not our best option. We need to make our house lead-safe, but we don’t have the funds to do so. We have been unable to save enough due to the medical bills, our growing family, loss of my job, the labor department denying my unemployment, and all the issues median-income households are facing. I appreciate any help you can give our family. I am open to any help. It doesn’t have to be monetary. If any company reads this and sees it in their heart to help us finance the project, I just need a lead-safe home for my children.
