OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Housing, Community Development & Public Health Committee Meeting - March 26, 2026

City Council — Thursday, March 26, 2026
BodyToledo, Ohio
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, March 26, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:43:06

Transcript — Verbatim
2:26

Yeah.

2:31

And then we talked about our own items on the show.

3:05

I figured I'd better be more than how we're going to have to get into the market.

3:51

I don't think it's not going to take a look at the time.

5:12

I call to order the housing and community development and public health committee meeting for today, Thursday, March 26th at 3:30.

5:21

Please call the board.

5:23

Jones here.

5:24

Gaddis.

5:26

Kramer here.

5:28

Martinez, McPherson, Melvin, Williams, too present.

5:35

Thank you.

5:37

So today we have gathered to hear about Scott, an organization dedicated to sickle cell awareness, sickle cell disease, sick cell trait.

5:47

This was definitely a personal thing for me, and definitely a way in order to get more awareness, considering that I have sickle cell trait, and also I know plenty of other people that have that as well, and just the work that you do definitely needs to be highlighted considering you are the only one that does this type of work here in Toledo.

6:07

And also you said Michigan when we had first met as well.

6:11

So we will definitely hear more about your organization, what you do about sickle cell, and then following that, we will get into the lead hazard reduction grant through the housing department to hear a little bit more about their plans when it comes to the grant as well as the lead program.

6:29

So other than that, please take it away, Dr.

6:32

Scott.

6:38

Okay, so you're able to hear me now?

6:40

Okay.

6:40

Thanks for having me.

6:42

And today we are going to talk about just some facts about sickle cell.

6:46

Um I just want to give the disclaimer, I am not a medical professional.

6:50

However, see count, you know, seek out services if that's what you need to do.

6:55

And before I can start with sickle cell, I'd have to talk about my why, like how I got to this point.

7:00

So I am a mother of four amazing boys, two of which have sickle cell disease, and two have sickle cell trait.

7:09

Um so with that being said, everything that I do is with purpose, and I am very intentional on making sure that our community is very aware of what sickle cell is and how it impacts our community.

7:21

Um, I know a lot of people think that it only impacts African Americans, but that is a myth.

7:26

Um, any person of color at this point, and we'll dive into that a little bit, but I just want to make sure that we understand that this impacts our entire community.

7:36

So Scott Scott stands for Scott Center for Observation Treatment and Transition.

7:40

We were established in 2022 as a 501c3, and our purpose is basically to eliminate health disparities and undeserved communities, and we act as a liaison between medical professionals while we're reducing the stigmas within mental health, sickle cell, and then we also focus on infant mortality.

8:00

So our goal is to make sure that we are empowering our families and our patients to have better health outcomes.

8:07

We service 11 counties of Northwest Ohio, and Lucas is our biggest population, of course.

8:13

Um we we do a lot of uh transition programs, which makes us the first and only nonprofit in the state of Ohio to do that for sickle cell patients while combating mental health.

8:25

So there's a lot of stigmas that are associated with sickle cell disease and people of color being able to tolerate more pain, and we're trying to make sure that we're not creating more mortality or morbidity rates here in Lucas County or Northwest Ohio in general.

8:41

We have our support groups.

8:43

I'm also the newborn screening coordinator, so um as of March of 1990, it's been mandated in the state of Ohio to test every baby at birth, and my job is to make sure that I educate those families on their diagnosis.

8:56

So there's over 250 different types of hemoglobinopathies, and I am well versed in training in those areas, and I'm the one that's educating those families.

9:06

So what is sickle cell disease?

9:08

If you are new to the area, you don't know what that is, it is an inherited red blood uh excuse me, an inherited red blood cell disorder that affects all of the hemoglobin in one's body.

9:19

This is not contagious.

9:20

You are born with this disease, so that means both of your parents carry the trait.

9:24

That is the only way.

9:26

You are you don't catch it later in life, you are diagnosed at birth.

9:29

Um, which causes your blood cells to bl uh cause your vessels to block be blocked, as well as if severe anemia.

9:39

Um it also can cause extreme pain to one's body, and as well as organ damage.

9:46

So there's a lot that goes on with that.

9:49

Who are impacted individuals from Saudi Arabia, India, Spanish speaking organizations, so Turkey, Greece, um, Italy, all those places, along with African Americans are impacted.

10:02

So one in 365 African Americans, one in 16, uh 300 Hispanic Americans, which we know here in Toledo is very diverse.

10:12

So this is why my work is very important to make sure that we know if one plus one equals two, if we have two people who have the trait, there is a 25% chance in every pregnancy to have a baby with sickle cell disease, and there's a 50% chance of having a child with sickle cell trait.

10:27

So if we can start educating, even in the schools, that's something that we we typically do.

10:32

We are educating school districts and students so that they understand the impacts if they decide to have children.

10:40

Some of the uh myths or stigmas that are related that uh this is due to racism, it's perceived a lot that um patients don't live past 30 years of age.

10:53

That is not true.

10:54

Um in the past, yes, in the 70s, patients weren't living as long as they're living today, but we have patients that are well into their 80s now, so that's that's a blessing.

11:04

Um drug seekers, when they go to the emergency rooms, they are considered drug seeking, especially an adult.

11:10

So I don't know where it goes from being a child and being innocent to now my black son is now seen as a threat and he's drug seeking.

11:22

That is not true.

11:23

Many of these patients have this medication at home, they have lots of opiates at home.

11:27

They come to the hospital because they've already been in pain five to seven days.

11:31

They can no longer tolerate the pain, they don't want to overtake the medications that are prescribed to them, so they go to the emergency department, but when they go, they have to dress up professionally, they can't dress just in regular clothing because they are perceived as drug seeking.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Lead Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████54%
Miscellaneous████████████████19%
Housing and Community Development███████8%
Public Engagement██████7%
Workforce Development███4%
Community Engagement███3%
Procedural██2%
Fair Housing██2%
Youth Programs█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Housing, Community Development & Public Health Committee Meeting - March 26, 2026

On Thursday, March 26, 2026, at 3:30 PM, the Toledo City Council's Housing, Community Development & Public Health Committee met to discuss sickle cell disease awareness and a proposed lead hazard reduction grant. Three council members were present (Brittany Jones, Theresa Gadus, Erin Kramer); four were absent. The meeting featured a presentation from the Scott Center for Observation Treatment and Transition (SCOTT), public testimony, and a detailed presentation on the city's new federal lead grant.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Emory Scott (age 11, sickle cell warrior and Ohio child ambassador) gave a personal testimony about living with sickle cell disease, describing daily pain, missed school, and the importance of support systems. He urged leaders to support organizations and education.
  • Sheree Barhe (grandmother of sickle cell warriors) shared her experience with sickle cell trait and promoted her grandson's book.
  • Joyce Doublefield (former sickle cell support group worker) highlighted that family members often miss school due to caregiving responsibilities, and noted historical blood donation challenges.
  • Tyela Smith (sickle cell anemia patient) described difficulties: her daughter missing school to accompany her to treatments, her husband's employer (Amazon) not understanding sickle cell, and being forced to travel to Cleveland for emergency care. She reported that a teacher threw her daughter's makeup work in the trash despite a doctor's note.
  • Kelly Mofield (Executive Director, Kidney Foundation of Northwest Ohio) noted the link between sickle cell and kidney disease, and shared that people of color are three times more likely to end up on dialysis.
  • Chelsea Benton (American Red Cross) announced partnerships with SCOTT to increase blood donation, especially minority donation.
  • Emily Mills (special education coordinator) shared best practices for 504 plans and urged parents to know their rights under Ohio's Parents' Rights Guide in Special Education.
  • Blair Johnson (licensed abatement contractor and risk assessor) urged approval of the lead grant, noted that 90% of Toledo's housing stock was built pre-1978, and stressed the need for more lead abatement workers and trade school partnerships. He also called for penalties on sellers who conceal lead hazards.
  • Kimberly Dixon (real estate professional) raised concerns about placard properties (homes with lead orders) being sold without disclosure. She suggested a system to flag such properties through title companies.

Discussion Items

  • Sickle Cell Awareness Presentation (Dr. Scott, SCOTT)

    • Dr. Scott (mother of two sons with sickle cell disease and two with trait) explained SCOTT's mission: eliminating health disparities, acting as a liaison between medical professionals, reducing stigma, and addressing infant mortality. SCOTT serves 11 counties in Northwest Ohio (Lucas County is largest).
    • Key facts: 1 in 365 African Americans, 1 in 16,300 Hispanic Americans have sickle cell disease. Both parents must carry the trait (25% chance per pregnancy of disease, 50% chance of trait).
    • Myths addressed: not only affecting African Americans (also affects people from Saudi Arabia, India, Mediterranean, etc.); patients can live into their 80s; pain is real, not drug-seeking behavior.
    • Sickle cell trait can cause complications during strenuous exercise, high altitudes, scuba diving.
    • The only cure is bone marrow transplant (not universal) or gene therapy (cost $2.2 million per patient, requires chemo, two-year process). A gene therapy hub may open at Nationwide Children's Hospital.
    • Data: about 300 trait babies and 10-15 disease babies per year in Toledo. A food access survey of under 100 families linked food deserts to hospitalization due to pain crises.
    • Council member questions: housing challenges for sickle cell patients (frequent hospitalizations affect ability to work and pay rent), school accommodations (504 plans, training for teachers), and the need for more data on local prevalence.

  • Lead Hazard Reduction Grant (Deputy Director Colleena Ali and Program Manager Jerry Kukowski)

    • The city received a highly competitive federal grant from HUD's Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes: $55,000 marketing budget over four years, targeting 141 homes.
    • 82% of the budget is direct costs (tied to specific addresses); 1.8% is administrative. The budget was approved by HUD.
    • Priority: homes with orders from the health department due to elevated blood lead levels (EBL) in children under six. 41 high-risk census tracts are targeted, but any eligible city home can apply.
    • The grant allows for owner-occupied and rental units, including vacant units. The city will use an online application portal, referrals from the health department, and outreach via billboards, health fairs, and landlord networks.
    • Staffing is in place, and a pipeline of units from previous grants will be merged.
    • Potential new federal requirement: proof of citizenship for applicants – still awaiting HUD guidance at orientation in late April.
    • Lead Resource Center (Candice Buckley, Executive Director) plans to be located at Swain Field (Inglewood area), providing training for lead workers, risk assessors, and contractors. Buckley announced she will present at the Ohio Housing Network and the national Lead and Healthy Housing Conference.
    • Lead Safe Coordinator Monica Smith added that placard properties (with lead orders) are posted on health department websites, and efforts are underway to attach these orders to property titles to prevent undisclosed sales.

Key Outcomes

  • The committee heard the sickle cell presentation and public testimony; no formal vote was taken on this item, but council members expressed strong support for SCOTT's work and pledged to help with awareness and addressing barriers.
  • The lead grant ordinance (O-112-26) was discussed in detail; the committee is expected to move it forward. Council members requested quarterly updates on the grant's progress and for marketing materials to be shared with their offices.
  • The committee will monitor the citizenship requirement issue and its impact on program eligibility.
  • No formal action was taken at this meeting; the lead grant ordinance is anticipated to be voted on the following week.

Meeting Transcript

Yeah. And then we talked about our own items on the show. I figured I'd better be more than how we're going to have to get into the market. I don't think it's not going to take a look at the time. I call to order the housing and community development and public health committee meeting for today, Thursday, March 26th at 3:30. Please call the board. Jones here. Gaddis. Kramer here. Martinez, McPherson, Melvin, Williams, too present. Thank you. So today we have gathered to hear about Scott, an organization dedicated to sickle cell awareness, sickle cell disease, sick cell trait. This was definitely a personal thing for me, and definitely a way in order to get more awareness, considering that I have sickle cell trait, and also I know plenty of other people that have that as well, and just the work that you do definitely needs to be highlighted considering you are the only one that does this type of work here in Toledo. And also you said Michigan when we had first met as well. So we will definitely hear more about your organization, what you do about sickle cell, and then following that, we will get into the lead hazard reduction grant through the housing department to hear a little bit more about their plans when it comes to the grant as well as the lead program. So other than that, please take it away, Dr. Scott. Okay, so you're able to hear me now? Okay. Thanks for having me. And today we are going to talk about just some facts about sickle cell. Um I just want to give the disclaimer, I am not a medical professional. However, see count, you know, seek out services if that's what you need to do. And before I can start with sickle cell, I'd have to talk about my why, like how I got to this point. So I am a mother of four amazing boys, two of which have sickle cell disease, and two have sickle cell trait. Um so with that being said, everything that I do is with purpose, and I am very intentional on making sure that our community is very aware of what sickle cell is and how it impacts our community. Um, I know a lot of people think that it only impacts African Americans, but that is a myth. Um, any person of color at this point, and we'll dive into that a little bit, but I just want to make sure that we understand that this impacts our entire community. So Scott Scott stands for Scott Center for Observation Treatment and Transition. We were established in 2022 as a 501c3, and our purpose is basically to eliminate health disparities and undeserved communities, and we act as a liaison between medical professionals while we're reducing the stigmas within mental health, sickle cell, and then we also focus on infant mortality. So our goal is to make sure that we are empowering our families and our patients to have better health outcomes. We service 11 counties of Northwest Ohio, and Lucas is our biggest population, of course. Um we we do a lot of uh transition programs, which makes us the first and only nonprofit in the state of Ohio to do that for sickle cell patients while combating mental health. So there's a lot of stigmas that are associated with sickle cell disease and people of color being able to tolerate more pain, and we're trying to make sure that we're not creating more mortality or morbidity rates here in Lucas County or Northwest Ohio in general. We have our support groups. I'm also the newborn screening coordinator, so um as of March of 1990, it's been mandated in the state of Ohio to test every baby at birth, and my job is to make sure that I educate those families on their diagnosis. So there's over 250 different types of hemoglobinopathies, and I am well versed in training in those areas, and I'm the one that's educating those families. So what is sickle cell disease? If you are new to the area, you don't know what that is, it is an inherited red blood uh excuse me, an inherited red blood cell disorder that affects all of the hemoglobin in one's body. This is not contagious. You are born with this disease, so that means both of your parents carry the trait. That is the only way. You are you don't catch it later in life, you are diagnosed at birth. Um, which causes your blood cells to bl uh cause your vessels to block be blocked, as well as if severe anemia. Um it also can cause extreme pain to one's body, and as well as organ damage. So there's a lot that goes on with that. Who are impacted individuals from Saudi Arabia, India, Spanish speaking organizations, so Turkey, Greece, um, Italy, all those places, along with African Americans are impacted. So one in 365 African Americans, one in 16, uh 300 Hispanic Americans, which we know here in Toledo is very diverse. So this is why my work is very important to make sure that we know if one plus one equals two, if we have two people who have the trait, there is a 25% chance in every pregnancy to have a baby with sickle cell disease, and there's a 50% chance of having a child with sickle cell trait. So if we can start educating, even in the schools, that's something that we we typically do.

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