• Video Public Service Announcement. 
Syracuse produced a video public service 
announcement (PSA) for the local cable televi¬ 
sion station. The mayor s public relations coordi¬ 
nator, who had been a local television news 
anchor, was instrumental in getting the PSA pro¬ 
duced and aired. The PSA text is included at the 
end of this chapter. 
4.2 Approaching and 
Recruiting Program 
Participants 
In Syracuse, one of the biggest challenges has 
been overcoming residents discomfort with 
strangers coming into their homes. Some people 
might worry that if inspectors identify a lead 
hazard, the government might make them move 
or might call social services to report lead poisoning in the children. In addition to the frustra¬ 
tions of trying to communicate with limited English language skills, residents might also feel 
anxious about the possibility that their child might be lead-poisoned. Syracuse overcame these 
challenges by hiring non-threatening, sensitive, appropriately dressed staff with strong people 
skills to conduct home visits and to teach affected households the proper cleaning methods. 
According to Syracuse s outreach coordinator, Many people don t want someone telling them 
how to clean their homes. It s like trying to teach an adult how to brush their teeth they don t 
want to learn because they ve been doing it for years. As an example, a woman in Syracuse who 
was remodeling her home had exposed her child to lead poisoning. She very much feared that if 
she enrolled in the program, something would happen to her child or to her home. She was 
finally persuaded to participate and was so pleased after using the HEPA vacuum and seeing the 
post-intervention results that she purchased her own HEPA vacuum to keep treating her house. 
A warm, friendly disposition goes a long way toward gaining trust. Be assertive but still friend¬ 
ly, and emphasize that the program promotes children s health, representatives from Syracuse 
advise. Thanks to their success in relationship building, Syracuse s Lead Dust Project staff can 
Minneapcdlis/St. Paul Plugs intd 
Local Media Outlets 
T he Minneapolis/St. Paul area has the largest 
Somali immigrant population in the United 
States. Many of these residents are fearful of govern¬ 
ment and are largely illiterate. In addition to reaching 
them through CBOs and with translated material dis¬ 
tributed in public health clinics, the program is also 
using local Somali-language cable TV and radio sta¬ 
tions. Minneapolis also is using donated advertising 
space to place informational posters in bus stop shel¬ 
ters within targeted neighborhoods. Minneapolis 
finds that free remnant (unsold) transit advertising 
space is often available in low-income neighborhoods. 
Minneapolis’ Lead Inspectors Need “People Skills” 
T he city of Minneapolis recognizes the important interactive role lead inspectors play. Not only are 
they technical experts and program enforcers, but they also are program ambassadors. Because 
interpersonal skills are so vital, the city is adding such requirements to its job description for lead inspec¬ 
tors. In fact, people skills are necessary not only to recruit program participants, but also to interact 
with property owners, who must ultimately remediate the lead contamination in their buildings. The 
draft job description includes the following language: 
Human relations communication and group facilitation skills are of primary importance because of the 
interaction with large numbers of people and organizations from diverse backgrounds. Excellent oral and 
written communications skills are, therefore, essential, as is the ability to mediate and resolve disputes. 
z s 
Chapter A 
