Two News Stories California and Columbus

There were two shocking crimes against homeless people over the last few days.  Today in California a homeless woman was set on fire while she was sleeping on a park bench.  Just last week the National Coalition for the Homeless released a report identifying California as the most dangerous state in the union.   They actually had three times as many incidents of violence against homeless people as any other state in the union.  According to the story a witness followed the attacker.  The victim who was not identified is in critical condition.  The attacker was under arrest thanks to the witness who stayed with him as he fled the scene.

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Updated Website

The portraits are from professional photographer David Hagan.  There were a few cepia tone pieces from Charles who spent time living in the shelters.  There is a photo of our friend Brian Henke who performed at the Woodchopper's Ball.  There are images from a 1992 show with Janet Century and Karen St. John Vincent.  Finally, there are a few recent photos from the Hand Up Gala.   We would love to hear from you about what you would like to see on the front page.  Do you like the black and white photos, all color photos or just images taken by homeless people.

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Join NEOCH Today

For the past 27 years NEOCH has published a Homeless Street Card.  We have organized the Homeless Memorial Day and read the largest number of names in our history.  We helped with the Homeless Stand Down, coordinating outreach, and placing volunteer attorneys at the shelters.  We need your help right now to join the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless.  We have sent you a piece of mail with an envelope to return to NEOCH or you can donate directly on our website here.  The 2013 membership campaign is underway.  Please join us as we fight to prevent homelessness for the growing number women and children by making a tax deductible donation during this critical time.

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Hand Up Gala 2012

The Hand Up Gala was December 6, 2012 and above is a picture of "Celebrity Server" Zach Reed at the event.  Everyone I talked to enjoyed the event, and the beautiful atmosphere created by the Cosgrove staff.  We raised $2,000 for transportation and outreach services in Cleveland.   We conducted the auction last week and are sending the prizes out this week.  We have posted a gallery of photos from the event.  It could not have been successful without the chef, Matthew Barnes from the LMM Central Kitchen and his staff.

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Homeless Memorial Day 2012

On December 21, 2012, NEOCH along with 105 cities in the United States remembered those who passed away over the past year.  We have honored those by reading the names for the past 26 years, and 2012 we read the largest number of names in our history with 74 individuals passing.  Some of the shelters that typically report one or two names had 12 names.   We had suicides, murders, and most passing from the hardships of living without a home. 

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Nice Article on the Flaws in Point in Time Counts

The Institute on Children, Poverty and Homelessness have a nice article on their blog regarding the bad information distributed by HUD with their annual point in time counts.  We agree with this national agency, and do not participate in the local point in time count done by the County.  Our biggest issue is that both the media, national groups, and the federal government manipulates and distorts this data to dramatically underestimate the population. 

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Point In Time Counts Fail

The Institute on Children, Poverty and Homelessness have a nice article on their blog regarding the bad information distributed by HUD with their annual point in time counts.  We agree with this national agency, and do not participate in the local point in time count done by the County.  Our biggest issue is that both the media, national groups, and the federal government manipulates and distorts this data to dramatically underestimate the population.

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Homeless Congress--Shelter Standards

Yesterday, we had a lively Homeless Congress meeting with County Councilman Dale Miller.  The purpose of this meeting was to talk about the State of the Shelters, and do we need a law to govern the shelters.  Bottom line was that nearly everyone at the meeting felt that it was important to continue the effort to pass a law that would regulate the shelters.  County Councilman Dale Miller welcomed the crowd and told them of some of the funds that the county had spent recently on homeless services.

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Public Square is Free Again

Occupy Cleveland protesters were arrested in October 2011, and those members sued the City to overturn the curfew on Public Square.   This case could have an influence on the relationship between the City and homeless people.  In the 1990s, Public Square had as many as 25 people who slept on one of the quadrants every night.  This decreased dramatically after 2100 Lakeside shelter opened in 2000, and virtually disappeared after the curfew was passed in 2007.  Now, the Ohio Appeals Court ruling this last month, homeless people could make the case that sleeping outside in the most visible place in the City is an act of protest against the lack of housing in the United States.

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Hand Up Gala A Success

It was a great day at the Cosgrove on Thursday December 6.   We served 200 meals which included a fried okra appetizer with a cajun remoulade and a stuffed chicken with smoked mozzarella caramelized onion with a sweet potato mash and a chicken ajus.  They had asparagus as a side dish and a double chocolate cream pie for dessert.  Thanks to Matthew Barnes from LMM Central Kitchen for supervising the meal and preparing this great four star dinner.  Grace from Beaumont High School organized this entire event.

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Timothy Ray Russell 1968-2012

The staff and board of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless have our Board Treasurer, Michelle Russell, in our thoughts and prayers over the loss of her brother Timothy.  His memorial service was today, and featured a moving tribute by his family and friends. They remembered him as a man of God who had a thirst for life.
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Blanket Giveaway in Partnership with Browns

NEOCH, in partnership with the Cleveland Browns, are working to provide blankets to those who sleep outside or in the overflow shelters.  We do this every year with a goal of collecting and distributing 3,000 during the winter.  The Cleveland Browns are partnering with NEOCH this week to assist in the collection of blankets with a goal of 1,000 blankets this week.  Starting December 8, 2012 and while the supply of tickets last, we will give one ticket to the Cleveland Browns game vs. the Washington Redskins on December 16, 2012 for every two blankets that are donated to NEOCH before the game. 

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Hand Up Gala Auction December 14

There is still a week left to get involved in the Auction for the Hand Up Gala.  Yesterday, Nicole Evans of the Cosgrove was on Live on Lakeside right before noon at WKYC-TV.  The Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless and the Bishop Cosgrove Center, a program of Catholic Charities, are hosting the third annual Hand Up Gala to prepare a four star meal for those struggling with poverty on December 6, 2012 at Noon.  The event is also a fund raiser for the two groups to continue their important work serving the homeless and hungry of Greater Cleveland and providing outreach to those resistant to shelter.  Twenty-eight local arts and entertainment organizations provided gift certificates as prizes for everyone who donates to the Hand Up Gala.  There is still a week left to donate to this event before the drawing next Friday for the auction

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New York Times Affordable Housing Editorial

On the day we find out that our own local paper, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, is planning to fade deeper into obscurity by laying off another few dozen reporters, the New York Times had a wonderful editorial about the sad state of affordable housing in America.  We have copied it for posterity on our member site (need a login as a member to access our member site.) 

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Sad Loss of Life in East Cleveland

As we prepare to remember those who passed away and we begin to collect the names of those to read on December 21, 2012, we were sad to see the news that two homeless people were killed in East Cleveland after a high speed chase and an overwhelming number of bullets.  We reserve making any statements on the situation in East Cleveland while we wait for the results of the investigation being conducted by law enforcement.  We agree with the families who want to see a federal investigation of this shooting.

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