Immigration attorney Jessica Rodriguez Bell poses for a portrait with one of her clients, a mid-20s man who emigrated illegally from Mexico, at the mobile home park where he lives in northeast Columbus, Ohio on March 23, 2017. When the man was 10 months old, he and his parents illegally immigrated from Mexico and they've spent the last 15 years living in this mobile home park where many other undocumented immigrants reside. During the last four years of the Obama administration, this man's immigration case became a low-priority under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, but he is concerned that he might become a higher priority for deportation under Trump administration policies. Bell represents many undocumented immigrants in the Columbus area who also fear deportation.
Erin Rollins raises her arms as she leads a song at the start of a worship service at her home on Sunday, April 23, 2017 in Dublin, Ohio. Rollins, along with her husband, Derrick, is a worship leader at Agathos, a non-denominational Christian church in the Short North. Members meet at the main church on the first and third Sundays of the month, and meet at a member's home on the second and fourth Sundays of the month. Members say "House Church" helps them form stronger relationships and a better understanding of scripture.
Parade marchers sing the Star-Spangled Banner as they prepare to march during the Doo Dah Parade on Tuesday, July 4, 2017 in Columbus, Ohio.
Students climb in a tree during outdoor play on Thursday, September 21, 2017 at Red Oak Community School in Columbus, Ohio. The two-year-old private school incorporates the outdoors and environmental awareness into much of its curriculum.
Law enforcement officers bow their heads in prayer during the funeral of Kirkersville Police Chief Steven Eric DiSario on Saturday, May 20, 2017 at Church of the Nazarene in Grove City, Ohio. DiSario, along with nurse's aides Cindy Krantz and Marlina Medrano, were killed on Friday, May 12, 2017 outside the Pine Kirk Care Center in Kirkersville. The gunman, Thomas Hartless, 43, of Utica, took two passers-by hostage in a wooded area DiSario encountered him. Hartless, who was in a former relationship with Medrano, was later found dead inside the nursing home along with Krantz and Medrano.
Blind advocate Reggie Anglen on Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at his home in Columbus, Ohio. Anglen, who has been blind since birth due to glaucoma, founded Teachable Moments, an organization that serves as a resource center for blind adults.
Hospice chaplain John Cramton, left, says a prayer with patient Gretchen Haas, 80, on Friday, March 10, 2017 in her assisted care apartment at Whetstone Care Center in Columbus, Ohio. Cramton and his employer, OhioHealth, help train local people of faith on how to visit and counsel people in hospital care so they can help ease the work load of hospital-employed chaplains.
Girls in the African Children's Choir wait in a hallway outside the sanctuary before performing on Sunday, January 1, 2017 at Karl Road Baptist Church in Columbus, Ohio. The choir, comprised of orphaned and other vulnerable African children aged 7 to 10-years-old, tours the United States and other countries to raise money for children from their home countries.
Ohio State freshman Bailey Mayes, left, raises her arm as freshman Alli Payne, right, applies body paint outside the Block O student section before a NCAA college football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday, November 18, 2017 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
Jameliah Johnson, 8, right, shoots plays a game of basketball with her brothers Donivieon Greendiles, 14, left, and Jerome Johnson, 9, center, outside their home on Fifth Street and Seventh Avenue in the Weinland Park neighborhood on Wednesday, June 21, 2017 in Columbus, Ohio.
Pedestrians cross Broad Street as sunlight reflects off a nearby building during a snow squall on Thursday, March 2, 2017 in Columbus, Ohio. After hitting a record high temperature of 78 degrees on February 24, 2017, highs fell back into the 30s on Thursday, but are expected to climb back into the 50s by Sunday.
An Ohio State fan celebrates after an 82-yard Mike Weber touchdown during the second quarter of a NCAA college football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday, November 11, 2017 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
Geno Tucker, center left, embraces Solomon Wiley, 15, of Columbus, center right, as he becomes emotional after talking about his uncle, Jaron Thomas, as a crowd rallies in front of the Governor's mansion during the March for Justice on Saturday, May 6, 2017 in Columbus, Ohio. About 400 people from across the state gathered at Franklin Park to demonstrate for racial justice, advocate for good-paying jobs, criminal justice reform, investment in schools and public services and accountability from the justice system and elected officials. Both men had relatives who died during incidents with Columbus Police: Tucker was the uncle of 23-year-old Henry Green, who was shot and killed during an altercation with two plainclothes officers in South Linden. Thomas, 36, a North Linden resident who suffers from schizophrenia, died after police responded to his 911 call and after an altercation with officers. His family has filed a $2 million wrongful death lawsuit against the department.
Seven-year-old Emalee Anderson, the 2016 Tiny Miss Canal Winchester, waves to spectators as she rides in the back 1962 Chevrolet Impala during the Labor Day parade on Monday, September 4, 2017 in Canal Winchester, Ohio.
STORY SUMMARY: More than 98,000 people in the United States, including about 2,200 in Ohio, are waiting for kidney transplants. Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center was the site of a five-way kidney exchange, which paired five recipients with five donors. It's the second largest of such chain procedures performed solely at Ohio State.Ann Jenkins, center, of Lima, Ohio, becomes emotional as her husband, Stephen, stands next to her bed before starting surgery to donate her kidney on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. Ann and Stephen drove in the early morning hours to Columbus from their home about two hours away. They hit a deer on the way to the hospital, but still made it by 5 a.m. so Ann could be prepped for the surgery, which started a little after 7 a.m. Ann originally planned to donate her kidney to a church friend from Lima, but they weren't a match, so Ann offered her kidney to anyone who needed it. "I had such peace about it," she said. "I just felt like it was something I needed to do. It was important."
Dr. Ronald Pelletier, center, looks at a video monitor as he uses surgical scissors to cut away tissue surrounding one of Ann's kidneys at the beginning of the procedure on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio.
Surgeons and nurses work in Ann's operating room as they remove one of her kidneys for donation on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. More than 98,000 people in the United States, including about 2,200 in Ohio, are waiting for kidneys. Ohio State was the site of 209 kidney transplants in 2016, and roughly 40 percent were from living donors. Ann was a donor in a five-way kidney exchange, which is the second largest of such procedures performed solely at Ohio State.
Nurses Susan Pendleton, left, and DaNiel Rogers, center, confer outside kidney recipient John Rimmer's operating room as they prepare his room while surgeons continue to work inside Ann's on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. Operating room staff alternately referred to the day's five transplants as a "kidney swap meet," "kidneypalooza" and "kidney day." For lunch, hospital management brought in chili (with kidney beans) and kidney-shaped cakes for the staff.
Dr. Ken Washburn exits Ann's operating room carrying a small metal bowl containing ice water and one of her kidneys as he walks toward the operating room of John Rimmer, the kidney's recipient, on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio.
Dr. Latifa Sage Silski gently holds John's new kidney on his abdomen as Dr. Washburn, at right, works during the beginning of the transplant on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. The whole procedure took just over an hour.
After successfully connecting John's new kidney to his blood system, Dr. Silski works to connect the organ to his ureter on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. In John's case, as with almost all kidney transplants, his damaged kidneys were not removed because this greatly increases the risk of surgical complications.
Dr. Silski and Dr. Washburn work in tandem to transplant John's new kidney on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio.
After a successful transplant, Dr. Silski and Dr. Washburn sutured the approximately 8-inch surgical opening in John shut before moving him into a post-operation room on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio.
John holds back tears as he hands Ann a thank-you note after meeting her during a meeting with donors and recipients on Thursday, February 16, 2017 at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. "Thank you, dear. So much," he said, teary-eyed, as they embraced later during their meeting. "May God bless you the rest of your life." Later, he said he was feeling better than he had in years and that his new kidney was already doing its job. "This is my once-in-a-lifetime miracle," John said. "I spoke to my youngest daughter last night, and I said, 'You know, if you didn't believe in miracles before this, you have to now.'"
STORY SUMMARY: Franklin County, Ohio, is one of the most unequal places in the country. Though unemployment has fallen as central Ohio recovered quickly from the Great Recession, the rate of people in poverty — about 1 in 3 Franklin County residents have a household income at or below twice the poverty level — has remained steady as high-paying jobs have been replaced with lower-paying ones. Economic mobility is low, and the number of residents who identify as middle class has dropped seven percent from 2000 to 2014.Ashley Longino, 23, rides the Greater Rickenbacker Employee Access Transit shuttle at 7 a.m. to her $9.50 an hour warehouse job on Tuesday, February 21, 2017 in Groveport, Ohio. Longino relies on the bus and the shuttle to get her from her south side Columbus home her job at a logistics center near Groveport. The cities of Groveport and Obetz pay for the shuttle's operation, estimated at about $531,000 for Groveport and $160,000 for Obetz. A few of the companies that operate warehouses in the area each contributed $5,000 for the shuttle's operation initially, but chose not to provide long-term support. Though unemployment in Franklin County has steadily ticked down since 2010 - it’s currently under 5 percent - the number of people living at or below 200 percent of the poverty line, defined as $49,200 for a family of four, has remained steady, with just over 400,000 residents in 2015, the most recent data set.
Marge Galloway, left, and Brandon Thompson, second from left, walk up to a house on Azelda Avenue in Columbus’ North Linden neighborhood while canvassing with the Mid-Ohio Workers Association on Saturday, February 25, 2017 in Columbus, Ohio. The association, comprised of volunteers and members, canvasses neighborhoods for low-wage workers who might need help with paying their bills, getting health care or legal advice, and keeping their homes. Columbus is one of the most economically segregated cities in the country: One census tract in Clintonville, west of I-71, has a median annual household income of $100,284. On the east side of I-71 in North Linden, about two miles from Clintonville, the median household income is $27,702.
After saying goodbye to his wife, John Carpenter leaves his North Linden home as he heads to work at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, February 28, 2017 in Columbus, Ohio. John and his wife, Ashley, both work as home-health care aides — he works between 30 and 56 hours per week, and she works more than 60 hours per week — so they can pay their home mortgage and care for their 2-year-old son. "I can't remember the last day off," he said. The couple work in one of the fastest-growing job sectors in the country, with the number of home-health care workers in the United States more than doubling since 2005. John recently received a raise, from $9.50 to $11 an hour and Ashley makes $8.15 an hour - minimum wage - while she sleeps at her clients' homes and $11.25 an hour as a supervisor the rest of the time. John likes his job, but works seven days a week. "If you don't work, you don't get paid," he said.
Diane Hudson rests inside her north side townhouse just before leaving to start her 5 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. shift as a janitor for a cleaning company that contracts janitorial services to local businesses. Hudson, who’s worked as a janitor for her company for nine years, makes $10.90 an hour cleaning three buildings at Columbus Academy, a private school in nearby Gahanna, Ohio, where student tuition averages $22,871 a year. She moved to Columbus from Youngstown in search of better job opportunities after losing a good-paying job on an assembly line when the plant in northeast Ohio closed. "This paycheck? It's gone almost as soon as I get it," she said. "The whole reason I left was to better myself, but I have struggled."
Deborah Gilmore talks to recruiters at iQor, a call center based in New Albany, during a job fair on Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at Hollywood Casino in Columbus, Ohio. Gilmore, 26, has worked several low-wage jobs while caring full-time for her mother. After interviewing with several companies at the fair, Gilmore landed a job that pays $12.50 an hour as a cashier at Hollywood Casino. The casino sits on the former site of a Delphi auto parts manufacturing plant, where workers took home about $70,000 a year with overtime.
Alice Gardner sits inside her bedroom on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at her North Linden home in Columbus, Ohio. Gardner travels the geographic income divide every day when she drives from her North Linden home to her part-time job as a food service worker at Village Academy, a private school in Powell, Ohio. She started the job with her company, which contracts with the school, ten years ago for $9.15 an hour but now makes $11 an hour. Gardner, 60, qualifies for Medicaid, but fears taking a second job and losing that health benefit, an eligibility cliff familiar to many low-wage workers. She has carpal tunnel and had surgery last year to repair a torn rotator cuff. Every day, though, she still moves 50-pound boxes of fruit while preparing to feed students at school.
Jennifer Clark, center, speaks with mediator Joy Marshall, right, of Community Mediation Services of Central Ohio, while waiting for her case to be called during eviction court hearings on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at the Franklin County Municipal Courthouse in Columbus, Ohio. Clark, 36, has a one-month-old daughter and makes $9-an-hour with no paid leave at a downtown Columbus hotel. She fell behind on her rent after going weeks without pay after giving birth. She thought she had a better job a few years ago at a distribution center, but found that her hours would be suddenly cut short. “Some shifts, it would just be three hours,” she said. “We’d just sit there in the cafeteria waiting for a bus. I couldn’t do it anymore." Franklin County’s eviction court is the state’s busiest, with about 19,000 filings a year. Today, Clark's landlord didn't want to work out a payment plan for back rent, but Marshall was able to negotiate a dismissal of the eviction after Clark agreed to move out by a set date. She and her children, 13-year-old twin girls, a 15-year-old son and a newborn daughter, plan to move in with a family member.
Harry Steininger waits in his car along with other Dublin Taxi drivers to get dispatched one afternoon on Wednesday, March 8, 2017 in Dublin, Ohio. He works the third shift, from 3:30 p.m. to 5 a.m., usually six days a week. Steininger, who’s driven a cab since 2003, used to pull in about $70,000 a year but his income has dropped to about $27,000 a year now that other ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft operate in Columbus. “We’ll never see them days again,” he said of the living he used to earn. Right now, he's working to save up a few thousand dollars to buy a small mobile home outside of the city.
After her hour-long trip to work, Ashley Longino, 23, walks up the road to her 7:30 a.m. shift warehouse job after getting off the Greater Rickenbacker Employee Access Transit shuttle just after 7 a.m. on Tuesday, February 21, 2017 in Groveport, Ohio. She daydreams about someday owning a car, stopping for coffee on her way to work at an office. "I needed the money, so I took this job," she said. "I did expect it to pay a little more."
Catarina Carrau, 3, tries to follow her mother, Silvia, during a Mom and Me ballerina class taught by Tina Ferreira at Training Grounds in Dublin on January 24, 2017. Catarina has a speech delay and both Sivia and Tina work with Catarina while practicing her ballerina skills.
Westerville Police Honor Guard raises up the United State, Ohio and Westerville flag during the playing of the pledge of allegiance during the Westerville's September 11th memorial service at First Responders Park in Westerville on September 11, 2017.
Calvin Fluellen was sent to youth prison for accidentally shooting and killing his friend while playing with a gun. Since his release, Calvin has been participating in Columbus Recreation and Parks Douglas Community Center boxing program and will be boxing in the Tribute to Muhammad Ali Boxing Showcase on Oct. 21. Calvin was practicing boxing at Douglas Community Recreation on October 17, 2017.
Children wait to exit the school bus to be picked up by their parents at Lion's Club Park after a shooting at the West Liberty-Salems school this morning in West Liberty, Ohio on January 20, 2017. Champaign County Sheriff Matt Melvin says a 17-year-old student fired shots around 7:35 a.m. hitting 16-year-old junior Logan Cole multiple times with a shotgun.
With Dr. Martin Luther King as an inspiration, Mackenzie Lewis of Columbus hopes to make a difference in the world. She was the keynote speaker Thursday at a celebration of King at during the 32nd Annual Commemorative Celebration at Trinity Episcopal Church in Columbus, Ohio on January 12, 2017. Lewis was also the winner of the Intermediate Division of the 2016 Statewide MLK Oratorical Contest.
4th graders Ryan Steward, 9, left, Linden Marim, 9, center, and Drew Adamkosky, 9, right, from Oak Creek elementary in Olentangy watch the start of the solar eclipse during the COSI solar eclipse watch party in Columbus, Ohio on August 21, 2017.
Bing Bing Jiang, working on her doctorate at University of South Florida walks through water after visiting a experiment site that was submerged at least four feet of water that capture phosphorus and nitrogen near the South Fork Licking River in Buckeye Lake on July 14, 2017. Rain waters from the night before caused all kinds of flooding in Buckeye Lake.
Rev. Carol Boyd Senior Minister of Columbus Spiritualist Temple poses for a photo in her Temple in downtown Columbus on May 17, 2017.
Ohio State dance professor Susan Van Pelt will be performing her one-woman dance show "The Linen Closet & Other Collections".
Ohio State men's basketball player Jae'Sean Tate poses for a portrait on October 27, 2017. Tate's mother was murder by her boyfriend when he was a child. Tate talked about his mother and the murder for the first time. “It took a few years until I actually started to calm down and become who I am today, but without that happening I don’t think I would be here.”
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Scott Harrington (54) gets his stick under the neck of Buffalo Sabres left wing Evan Rodrigues (71) in the 2nd period during their NHL game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on March 28, 2017.
Ohio State Buckeyes tight end Marcus Baugh (85) jumps into the air to score a touchdown after a catch during the 2nd quarter at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on October 7, 2017.
Columbus Clippers center fielder Tyler Naquin (6) steals a base at third base as Gwinnett Braves third baseman Carlos Franco (58) jumps over Naquin during their game at Huntington Park in Columbus on June 16, 2017.
Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) plants the Sooner flag in the Ohio State logo at midfield after beating Ohio State Buckeyes 31-16 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on September 9, 2017.
In 2003 at the age of 21-years old Juan Morel went to prison for three years after the death of his five-month old daughter. After his release Juan dedicated his life to becoming a professional body builder. Juan never thought he wanted to start another family until he meet his future wife, Karen, a professional body builder, at a competition. Juan and Karen married in 2012 and welcomed their daughter Izabella in 2016. Juan decided that he needed his wife and daughter at very event that he competes at. This makes Juan unlike any other professional bodybuilder at the Arnold Classic. Arnold Classic competitor Juan Morel waits to enter the stage before the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio on March 4, 2017.
Arnold Classic competitor Juan Morel eats a meal in his hotel room while is mother, Manuela, watches his daughter Izabella and wife, Karen, looks on in his hotel room in Columbus, Ohio on March 2, 2017. Juan is one of the only classic competitors that brings his family with him for a show.
Juan's wife Karen checks out Juan's posing in the pump up room before Arnold Classic prejudging in Columbus, Ohio on March 4, 2017. Karen was the only wife backstage before prejudging.
Arnold Classic competitor Juan Morel gets his first coat of spray tanning by Darla Schwartz late Friday night in Columbus, Ohio on March 2, 2017. Juan will get a second coat in the morning before the start of the event.
Arnold Classic competitor Juan Morel holds his poses during the Arnold Classic prejudging in Columbus, Ohio on March 4, 2017.
Juan's wife Karen yells for him to hold his chest up while holding their daughter during the Arnold Classic prejudging in Columbus, Ohio on March 4, 2017.
Juan gets a couple quick pumps in before hitting the stage for the first time before Arnold Classic prejudging in Columbus, Ohio on March 4, 2017.
Arnold Classic competitor Juan Morel stops to get his daughter Izabella while signing a picture for a fan during a meet and greet at the Hilton Hotel in Columbus, Ohio on March 2, 2017. Juan has become fan favorite over the past couple of years.
Arnold Classic competitor Juan Morel walks around the crowd flexing yelling during the Arnold Classic final in Columbus, Ohio on March 4, 2017.
Arnold Classic competitor Juan Morel kisses his wife, Karen, after finishing in 5th place in Arnold Classic final in Columbus, Ohio on March 4, 2017. Juan placed 6th last year and was happy with his move up this year.
Maddie O'Dell, 13, left, and Sophie Twigg, 13, light their sparklers before the start of this year's fireworks display Monday, July 3, 2017, at Fort Meigs in Perrysburg. Thousands of area residents turned out on both sides of the Maumee River to watch the show, which included carnival rides and food at Fort Megs. The third of July is Maddie's birthday.
fea"I can't get my hair back!" Mckayla Mejia, 15, laughed as she checked her phone after school Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in central Toledo. High winds swept through the greater Toledo area Thursday.
Southview's Lauren Micham smiles as she crosses the finish line to win the Division I 100 meter hurdles at the OHSAA 43d Annual Girls State Track and Field Tournament Saturday, June 3, 2017, at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus. Her time of 13.66 seconds broke the stadium record and put her in second place for the all-time state record in all divisions.
"He wouldn't save me from that accident without a purpose and every day I give Him thanks," Diana Dixon said. Ms. Dixon was driving a tractor-trailer through the Toledo area at around 5 a.m. on Aug. 4, 2011, when she witnessed a car accident on northbound I-475 in Maumee and stopped to help. While out of her rig, another tractor-trailer hit one of the cars involved in the initial accident and careened toward Ms. Dixon. She leapt off the freeway viaduct and fell 30 feet to the Ohio Turnpike’s median, shattering her pelvis, among other injuries. Three people were killed in the wreck. Now, she's healed and back to driving a big rig. Ms. Dixon credits her faith to helping her recover, and wants to spread the word of Christ by ministering on the road.
"That's my baby," a woman sobs, left, as another woman cries out, "That's my brother," while holding one another in the front yard as Toledo police investigate a shooting Tuesday, October 10, 2017, at 729 Brighton Ave. in South Toledo. Toledo police spokesman Sgt. Kevan Toney said an 18-year-old man and 18-year-old woman had been pronounced dead after the shooting. Police later identified the victims as Gregory Stone and Deiyana Porter, who were shot while in a car parked behind the house.
Lt. Pete Traver can't cover Tabari Triplett, 11, as he plays football with some friends from the neighborhood Monday, June 5, 2017, after Toledo firefighters had extinguished a blaze at a house on Cherry Street in Toledo. Battalion Chief Brent Wettle said the fire was reported at about 8:15 p.m. Monday evening in the 3300 block of Cherry Street, and caused an estimated $50,000 in damage. No injures were reported and the fire was under control within half an hour. The Red Cross was contacted to provide aid to seven residents of the house.
Genoa farmer Chad Gargas, center, reaches out to touch one of the milking cows as he and about 60 other people listen to dairy farmer Willem Van Rooijen, center left, talk about his operation during a tour of Naomi Dairy Tuesday, November 14, 2017, in Cygnet. Two busses of elected officials, state regulatory agency representatives, area business leaders, farmers, and residents toured several sites Tuesday in Northwest Ohio to highlight the efforts of farmers and other entities to fight soil erosion and fertilizer runoff. Mr. Gargas farms about 2,500 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and hay.
Indianapolis' Eric Wood (14) Christopher Bostick, center and Gift Ngoepe, right, can't make the catch off a Mud Hens hit in the bottom of the first inning during the Saturday, April 15, 2017, baseball match up at Fifth Third Field in downtown Toledo.
Melody Halsey checks the surgery staples on her foster dog Mekos, a seven-year-old male Bulldog mix, at her home in Toledo. Mekos came to the Halsey family through Planned Pethood with heart worm and needing surgery for a swallowed poker chip. Like many members of rescue organizations, Ms. Hasley is fiercely committed to helping animals in need. She and her husband have three young children and usually fosters more than five dogs at a time.
Snow flies as a man makes his way into the Toledo Museum of Art Wednesday, December 13, 2017, in Toledo. Flurries throughout the morning brought little accumulation.
Invisible and pervasive, the scourge of childhood lead poisoning is a persistent problem often caused by exposure in housing. Though lead paint was banned for home use in 1978, many older properties remain contaminated. Many families in rental properties are unaware of in-home contamination, and low-income home owners struggle to afford lead abatement as children incur irreversible lead poisoning. Across Ohio, health departments are evicting renters and owners from homes that are non-compliant with ordered lead abatement. Children play outside a house with identified lead hazards Wednesday, August 16, 2017, in Cleveland. The house was one of nearly 90 in Cuyahoga County for whom the Board of Health has issued Orders of Eviction. The identified houses were noncompliant with ordered lead abatement, a process triggered once a child staying at the residence tests positive for elevated lead levels. The family living at this property said they weren't interested in learning of the eviction order.
Siblings, from front left, Adelisse, 6, Yadier, 3, Joseph, 5, and Gilberto, 8, play together as their mother Yadelis Lopez, back left, keeps an eye on them Friday, June 23, 2017, at their home in Rochester, New York. Ms. Lopez moved to Rochester six years ago and has rented in the city ever since. Her son, Joseph, 5, tested positive for lead at one rental property, though the family has since moved to a house that was cleared by the city. In 2005 the city of Rochester adopted legislation to aggressively lower the number of children exposed to lead in rental housing. Their law is the basis for Toledo's new lead ordinance, which requires rental buildings built before 1978 with up to four units and day-care centers to be certified “lead-safe.”
A neighborhood is reflected from the porch of a house with a posted Order of Eviction Tuesday, August 15, 2017, in Cleveland. County boards of health can order homes vacated if the owners don't abate the lead contamination. While proponents say the laws force compliance, many neighborhoods are left with empty and blighted properties.
Allyse Goolsby pauses as she discusses the voluntary lead abatement updates she and her husband had made to their new rental property Wednesday, May 3, 2017, at their home in Toledo. The house is one of 27 in Toledo whose residents have been given orders to vacate by the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department due to ongoing excessive lead contamination. Ms. Goolsby and her family had moved into the property about a month earlier and were unaware of the eviction order. She said they had preemptively been working to renovate the home and abate the existing lead issue in hopes of buying the property.
Albert Algerian, a Rochester Code Enforcement Officer, uses his phone light to check for flaking paint on a window during an inspection demonstration Thursday, June 22, 2017, at a rental home in Rochester, New York. A new Toledo law, based on Rochester's decade-old lead law, requires rental buildings built before 1978 with up to four units and day-care centers to be certified “lead-safe.”
"I'm really worried now," India Gaston, 15, said as she held up her three-month-old son Ozzie Banks Wednesday, May 3, 2017, at their rental house in Toledo. Ms. Gaston said she and her parents, with whom she shares the rental house, had no idea they were supposed to vacate because of lead contamination. Though her niece had tested positive for lead when she was living at the property three years ago, India was under the impression that issue had been resolved.
Flaking paint in a windowsill would be flagged as a potential lead hazard in a rental home June 22, 2017, in Rochester, New York. The city of Rochester inspects all rental homes for, among other things, potential lead hazards. Inspectors perform visual inspections and, in areas of the city designated high-risk for lead poisoning, also administer dust wipe tests. Flaking paint and dust are two sources of high lead contamination.
Velma Rollins has kept extensive records of her struggle to stop evection order from the Cuyahoga County Board of Health. She has lived in her house off and on since she was a small child and has raised children and grandchildren there. Now, her son owns the property and the pair have been trying to sort out the Board of Health's ordered lead abatement, which was triggered after Ms. Rollins' grandson tested positive for elevated levels of lead. Their house was one of nearly 90 in Cuyahoga County for whom the Board of Health has issued Orders of Eviction after noncompliance with lead abatement.
"It's a scary situation," Mesha Wallace said as she held her granddaughter Mariah Gaston, 3, Tuesday, May 9, 2017, at their home in South Toledo. Mariah was diagnosed with lead poisoning at the age of one while living with Ms. Wallace in the home they rent. Mariah was treated, and the family's landlord repainted the interior of the house. Ms. Wallace was alarmed to learn two years later that the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department had included her home on a list of houses unfit for human habitation due to lead contamination. With another grandchild, three-month-old Ozzie, living in their home Ms. Wallace said she had started working 60 hours a week in hopes of saving enough money to move. She is now having her three children and two grandchildren tested for lead.
Jeremiah Slaughter, 5, left, plays on the front porch of his grandmother's house Wednesday, August 16, 2017, in East Cleveland. His grandmother Brenda Slaughter, right, said her family was moving out of their rental property after nine years because their landlord hadn't complied with ordered lead abatement. Their house was one of nearly 90 in Cuyahoga County for whom the Board of Health has issued Orders of Eviction after noncompliance with lead abatement. The process triggered once a child staying at the residence tests positive for elevated lead levels.
Mariah Gaston, 3, played with the security door at her grandmother's house Tuesday, May 9, 2017, in South Toledo. Mariah was diagnosed with lead poisoning at the age of one while living with her grandmother Mesha Wallace in the home the family continues to rent. Mariah was treated, and the family's landlord repainted the interior of the house. Ms. Wallace was alarmed to learn two years later that the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department had included her home on a list of houses unfit for human habitation due to lead contamination. With another grandchild, three-month-old Ozzie, living in their home Ms. Wallace said she had started working 60 hours a week in hopes of saving enough money to move. She is now having her three children and two grandchildren tested for lead.
