With better choices, federal COVID dollars could make Lexington a more equitable place
As we approach two years since COVID-19 began its devastation, our city has been granted a lifeline to rectify health and socioeconomic issues created and/or exacerbated by this global pandemic. We can invest in intellectual infrastructure as well as the physical to enhance a well-rounded quality of life beginning with, but not limited to, the youngest members of our society. We can spur the transformation of our city towards a more equitable community. We can provide our essential workers, whose continuity of service throughout this time has helped and continues to help keep us safe and functional, with premium pay. Their diligence has allowed us to remain operational, at great risk to themselves and their families, yet many have not even received hazard pay for the dangers they still face every day.
According to the CDC, the number of individuals suffering from depression and anxiety are steadily rising. In January 2021, a survey found 40% of American adults reporting symptoms, up from 11% in the first half of 2019. Children’s emergency department visits related to mental health have also risen noticeably. Drug overdose mortality has increased by nearly 30% from September 2019 to September 2020. “For children living in homes with lead paint, spending substantially more time at home raises the risk of developing elevated blood lead levels, while screenings for elevated blood lead levels declined during the pandemic” (Courtney et al.). Access to services to help those affected by domestic violence may have also been reduced. These are just some of the many issues our community members are facing, and we have a moral obligation to use the Fiscal Recovery Funds to address these problems.
Lexington should implement a program to test homes for lead paint, removing and repairing when discovered. No one should be living in a home with lead paint, especially when we have the means to fix this problem. Schools should be given funds to hire additional mental health professionals. Isolation, stress, and loss have been widespread experiences that can lead to poor mental health, and we must provide our youth with trained professionals to remedy these factors. A pilot program for a city-funded preschool could alleviate the shortage of quality childcare compounded by the pandemic. By supporting families and community services, at-risk neighborhoods could become promise neighborhoods. These are but a few possibilities. The limitations to the improvements we could make within our city are only stifled by a lack of imagination and a business as usual attitude by far too many of our leaders. This is not a time for pet projects long overlooked due to lack of funds. This is a time for innovation of ideas.
Adrian Wallace is president and CEO of the Bishop and Chase Foundation, a community development corporation based in Lexington.