"Don't Make Homelessness Worse in Ohio" Rally!!!NEOCH, ABLE and other advocacy organizations in the community will be attending a rally down in Columbus organized by One Ohio Now. Buses are leaving from Merrick House in Tremont at 7:30 a.m. for the rally, but anyone can carpool down to show support for a sensible budget for the State of Ohio. The budget was announced on March 15, and we still are having a difficult time figuring out how individual program are going to be impacted by the cuts. So, for example, we do not know how much money will go to the Ohio Housing Trust fund in the much larger Department of Development budget. We know that the State will close the mental health facility behind MetroHealth and move it to Summit County. We know that the planned state hospital will not be built in Cleveland, but we do not know if there will be money to serve new patients in Cuyahoga County. We know that the Cleveland and suburban schools will take a hit, and be forced to layoff personnel which could lead to future homelessness.
We know that city and county funding will decrease by 33%, but we do not know if that will mean a cut to the shelters or outreach teams. There is a $100 million proposed cut to the human services budget, but it is difficult to tell if that will prevent access to child care, child support enforcement, or medical care. It is likely that public colleges and universities will be more expensive. Higher education is often the ticket out of poverty. Many advocates will be going down to Columbus to the noon rally and to meet with their legislators. So get on the bus down to Columbus before the Kasich bus runs you over. Call Merrick House to see if there is still space available: Brian Larson at 216.771.5077 ext 135
Brian
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