Contractor Ira Collier Jr. stands outside a home on Calumet Avenue while working with the WOCAP lead abatement program.
Jacob Espinosa | The Lima News
LIMA — Contractor Ira Collier Jr. said the Daddy’s at Work program that Lima-Allen County Neighborhoods in Partnership runs has helped him become more self-sufficient as a lead abatement worker with his own business.
Collier Jr., Lima city officials and local NAACP officials met outside a house on Calumet Avenue undergoing lead removal Friday to discuss the program designed to open employment opportunities for potential contractors seeking certification to eliminate lead hazards in the community.
“What we’re doing is giving opportunities to fathers and anybody in the community to better the community, your home and your family,” A.J. Watkins, community outreach director for the program, said. “We’ll come with government jobs, not just in Lima, but everywhere. We’re working with WOCAP (the West Ohio Community Action Partnership) and they’re providing the money for the education while we make sure we teach you and get you certified and licensed for everything that you do.”
Collier Jr., who runs IC Enterprise, said he started classes in December and it only took a couple days to become licensed as a contractor.
“It helped me become more self-sufficient while growing my own family,” he said. “It helped me learn how to take care of these houses more efficiently and effectively. Lead is hazardous for children under 6 and could be poisonous for ages older than that.”
Allen County Public Health said the department saw an increase in children testing positive for lead poisoning in 2023, with a total of 31 children under the age of 6 testing positive.
Collier Jr. was one of the first people to go through the class and said he is looking forward to more workers and contractors coming through it later.
Carmillia Zion, director of the city’s department of housing and neighborhoods, said funding for the program comes from a federal grant of $2 million the city was awarded in 2019.
“WOCAP is our partner in this grant and they administer the funding for it so we have worked with Daddy’s at Work and Rev. Ron Fails’ NAACP to create this workforce development,” she said. “They have been very instrumental and we thank them for helping to create these opportunities.”
The efforts are welcome as councilman Thomas Jones said seven houses are scheduled for the lead abatement through the program with the city looking for 13 more by the end of August.
“The process is to apply for the program and get your home tested, after which a contractor will come out and give an estimate,” Jones said. “You can then apply for the WOCAP Lead Safe Home program and they will take care of the cost for it if you meet the requirements of having children under the age of 6 and the home or apartment was built before 1978 in Lima.”
Occupants must also have low or moderate gross income and property taxes must be up-to-date for applicants to be eligible.
Watkins said the program will hold its next class sometime in July.
To get involved with Daddy’s at Work, visit yourdaddysatwork.org.
For more information on WOCAP and the city’s lead abatement program, visit bit.ly/3VywROi.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
