Plastic Blankets Arrive at NEOCH

Earlier this year, we were amazed by these mats or blankets made by a volunteer out of plastic bags collected from grocery stores.  We were amazed by the craftsmanship and diligence of collecting thousands of bags and them putting them together in a roll out mat with a handle.  

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Victories in Cincinnati

We received a note from Cincinnati officials that they had two victories over the last few weeks.  The Board of Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously to uphold the previous decision of the Historic Conservation Board in favor of the Anna Louise Inn.  There will be other hearings and at least one appeal in the near future.  

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Husted Backs Down on Appeal of NEOCH Lawsuit

OnTuesday September 11, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted announced that he would not appeal Judge Algenon Marbley's decision enforcing our settlement with the state of Ohio.  For some reason the case is now called SEIU vs. Husted, but was previously NEOCH vs. Brunner and originally NEOCH vs. Blackwell, but whatever.  Husted issued a directive clarifying that if a voter goes to the wrong precinct at the instruction of a poll worker their provisional ballot must count.

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NEOCH Board Supports Issue 2

The Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless Board voted last week to support the passage of Issue 2.  There are a lot of good reasons to support this legislation including the current broken system and that this is a step in the right direction.  You can find many good reasons to vote for Issue #2 on the Voters First website (www.votersfirstohio.com).  But our main reason for supporting this issue is the destructive nature of the the two new Congressional districts in Cleveland.  The most offensive district is #9 which extends from Toledo to the West Side of Cleveland, and District 11 which snakes through Cuyahoga and Summit Counties to bring every possible African American into one district.

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Long Time Friend Retires

Continue Life is a small shelter on the border of Cleveland and East Cleveland that serves young mothers.  They have always been one of the few facilities that has trained staff to serve pregnant women who happen to be homeless.  Their long time director, Balinda Cavor announced her retirement on September 10, 2012.   Ms. Cavor was always a good friend of the Coalition, and has collaborated on a number of projects over the years.

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Dramatic Increase in Family Homelessness in Cleveland

In most cities, the number of family experiencing homelessness increases during the summer.  The summer is now over, and so we can look back on family homelessness in 2012 in Cleveland.  As of September 12, there were 590 families who attempted to enter the shelters in Cleveland. Last year there were only 383 families who entered the shelters for the entire year according to statistics released by the Office of Homeless Services. That is a 154% of last year and we still have three more months.  This is a huge increase that should trouble everyone.

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Labor Day Week Voter Update

We are going to send vans around during Golden Week Tuesday October 2, Wednesday October 3, Thursday October 4, Friday October 5, and then Tuesday October 9 between 9 and 5 p.m.   We will have a van available to stop at the shelters and take people to the Board of Elections to vote and/or change their address.  
A couple of other questions came up this week from the social service community:
ID law:  What if the address on their ID does not match the voter’s current address?

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Another Victory for Access to Voting...Another Appeal

Those seeking expanded access to the ballot box won another victory this Friday with a federal court judge ruling that the local boards of election must be open the last three days before election day to vote.  This was a lawsuit brought by Democrats, the Obama Presidential campaign and others who argued that it was unfair for active duty veterans to be able to vote in person on the last weekend while the rest of Ohio had to wait until election day to vote.

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