Flint residents are getting extra help dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic through a program set up after the city’s water crisis.
The program was created to help people affected by Flint’s lead tainted drinking water.
Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha discovered evidence that the change of Flint’s drinking water source led to a spike in blood lead levels in Flint children in 2015. She also played a significant role in creating the Flint registry.
She says the Flint Registry connects people with education, nutrition, health care and mental health care services.
Roughly 30,000 city residents have signed up to be part of the Flint Registry. More than 14,000 referrals have come through the program.
“Because we had already built that public health infrastructure, when this current preventable public health crisis also descended on our city, we were ready,” says Hanna-Attisha.
But federal funding for the Flint Registry program is set to expire next July.
The U.S. House has included two years of additional funding in its current budget proposal. The U.S. Senate has not acted yet.
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