Jim Schlecht Celebration

We the members of Cleveland’s progressive community recognize Jim Schlecht for his thirty years of exemplary service to the least among us and his ability to demonstrate compassion on the streets of Cleveland.  We recognize his struggle for mercy and peace in a society that does not always embrace the Beatitudes. Cleveland is a better place to raise a family because of Jim Schlecht’s work everyday to reduce hunger and homelessness and find justice for the persecuted. Presented this 24^th Day of April 2012.
For More information with a photo display go here.
We have also added a page on the NEOCH/Homeless Congress Advocacy Agenda here.
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Voting Field Hearing Announced

US Congress Announces Voting Hearing in Cleveland

Field Hearing Details:  The Subcommittee on the Constitution Civil Rights and Human Rights will hold a field hearing examining the impact of the new state voting laws that have recently swept the country, including HB 194 in Ohio.  Among other things, HB 194 restricts early voting, limits the distribution of absentee ballots, and no longer requires poll workers to direct voters to their proper precincts.  The hearing will be held the morning of Monday, May 7, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio. at 9:30 a.m. at the Carl Stokes US Federal Courthouse at the corner of Superior and Huron Rd near the Detroit Superior Bridge.
For more information go here...
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Meeting With HUD Secretary

As part of the National Coalition for the Homeless Board meeting, we had the privilege of meeting Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan.  He attended the meeting on Sunday afternoon before flying out of Washington.  Attending with the HUD Secretary was long time staff member Mark Johnston who is the director of special populations. 
For more information go here...
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New Street Chronicle on the Streets

Issue 19.1 Available for Sale

The new issue of the Cleveland Street Chronicle is now on the streets.  We have been selling it for a couple of weeks.  This issue is unique in that nearly every vendor contributed a poem or story.  This issue is heavy on the commentary and light on the news, but still a good 15 pages.  It is well worth the $1.25 and the support for the vendor.  There is an interview with Hilary King, the director of the fair housing group, Housing Research and Advocacy Center.
For More Information go here...
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Homeless People Do Vote

Cuyahoga County officials convened a meeting of all the shelters to talk about a plan to get homeless people to register and vote in the upcoming election.  Cuyahoga County is one of few communities in the United States that requires each publicly funded shelter submit a plan to get their residents to vote.  We applaud county Office of Homeless Services for supporting the 1990s Voter Motor law and seeing the importance of homeless people voting. We have built a special section of the NEOCH website around voting issues.

For More information go here
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New Stats on our Website

Updates on the Poverty 

 The NEOCH website now has the 2010 Census data on poverty and homelessness in Ohio.  It lists the cities in Northeast Ohio as well as the largest cities in Ohio.  The estimates on homelessness are all based on a percentage of the people who live below poverty losing their housing during the year.  This does not mean that they show up at the shelters, but most likely means that they will stay on couch or with family or friends.  It is good overview of the extent of the problem we are confronting.   Click here for the chart. 

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Denver: Illegal to Be Homeless

Denver Council Passing Anti-Camping Ordinance

It all sounds so nice and innocent until you actually begin to think of the implications.  The City of Denver is going down the path of making it illegal to be homeless downtown.  The Denver Post is supporting the plan while the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless is opposing the ordinance.  They had battling editorials/commentaries this past week.  These are awful laws that do nothing for the city, and have failed nearly everywhere.

To read more go here.
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One Million Searches

Housing Cleveland.org Goes Over One Million Searches

NEOCH is co-administrator of the website, Housingcleveland.org along with 211/First Call for Help.  This affordable housing website contains around 2,000 available units.  Last week we reached a milestone with over 1 million searches having been conducted over the last year.  There were over 140,000 unique users who conducted these searches.

For more information go here.
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Amazing Donations

Someone Really Cares About Homeless People.

We received a donation of mats made out of plastic bags from the grocery store.  Click over to the story to see pictures of these amazing mats.  Speaking of donations, we did not make our goal of 5,000 blankets this year.  I think that the mild winter made it harder to get people into the frame of mind for donating.  Plus we actually did not need as many blankets.  There was not as many nights of overflow needed this last winter.

Click here to see the mats and read more about donations.
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