Making kids sick

Housing so bad it kills you

It's a hidden epidemic. America's housing crisis -- unaffordable rents and crumbling, roach-infested buildings -- is taking a horrible toll on its children. While the social effects may be wrenching (see "Housing Crunch"), the health effects are turning out to be disastrous. Consider these statistics, compiled in a report called "Not Safe at Home," released this week by researchers at Boston Medical Center and Children's Hospital:

Asthma. This condition, in which the lungs swell and it becomes very difficult to breathe, is the most common chronic childhood disease. But it is even more common in the inner city, where 9 percent of white children and 12 percent of black children suffer its effects.

One of the key reasons, it is now clear, is overcrowded, dusty, pest-infested housing. The study estimates that nationwide, 17,849 children aged four to nine are sent to the hospital with asthma attacks each year because their homes are overrun with cockroaches. And asthma is serious: it kills hundreds of children every year.

Malnutrition. When housing is too expensive, there is not always enough money left over for food. So harsh are the tradeoffs that doctors have actually been able to measure it in the bodies of children. Of kids on a waiting list for affordable housing, one in every five showed signs of stunted growth, compared to one in 30 for kids whose families had already been placed. In winter, when heating bills are high, the situation is even worse: one Boston City Hospital study found that growth in young children slowed during these months. Going hungry in the early years -- a crucial period for emotional and cognitive development -- causes major problems for children down the road, in school and in life.

Lead poisoning. Despite laudable legislation in a number of states (including Massachusetts), the problem of lead poisoning -- most commonly caused by leaded paint in old homes -- is hardly a thing of the past. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that a million US children still have elevated levels of lead in their blood. Long-term exposure to lead damages the brain: among children aged one to five, the Boston study estimates that 2.5 million points of IQ are lost every year.

What these number add up to is a startling case of societal child abuse.

There are clear-cut steps that Boston can take. A medical review board at the Boston Housing Authority, for example, to give priority to families whose children have health problems. More funding for the city's deleading program. Stricter housing code enforcement, especially where children live.

But the problem is a national one. Why not convene congressional hearings? Senator John Kerry, who spoke at a press conference announcing the report, would be well-positioned to chair them from his Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee.

Joshua Sharfstein, a project director at Children's Hospital, explained his motive for putting together the report: frustration at knowing he had to send children home to houses that would make them sick. He turned his frustration turned into anger -- and action. It is time the nation did the same.

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