Social Security Administration Delays Changes

Since the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicle offices do not seem to have access to the internet or the E-verify system, we have no idea how they are going to deal with this problem of the Social Security Administration not providing a print out.  This is a huge problem for homeless people which are regularly having their important documents taken or they get lost with all the movement in and out of housing and shelter.  We are still waiting for a response from the Ohio BMV. 

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Housekeeping on the Website

On this cold wintry day in Cleveland, we have made some changes in the website.  We posted Don's message about the Street Voices program on the front of our website.  We moved the Homeless Memorial Video to the In Memoriam page of our website.   Brent has created a channel for NEOCH on You Tube here, which has four videos currently available.  We have added a gallery of pictures from the Homeless Stand Down 2014.  We know that over 1,400 people attended the Stand Down this year despite the horrible snow storm on January 25, 2014.

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Don Messitt Promotes Street Voices Program

Brent is going to post short promotional videos with our Street Voices presenters.  The first video is of long time speaker, Don Messitt, who talks about the value of this program to break stereotypes.   You can schedule a speaker by calling Ken at 432-0540 ext. 106 or by going to the Street Voices Section of our website.  We are hoping to schedule more engagements in the next year, and we will post all the videos on our website.

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People Seem to Be Sheltering in Place

Homeless people seem to be sheltering in place and not going outside.  Everything including some of the healthcare clinic sites and drop in centers are closed today, but most people are inside.  The brave and hearty outreach teams have gone around to campsites over the last 24 hours to make sure people were safe.  We have about 8 people who the local outreach teams are checking on regularly.   The students from John Carroll, St. Ignatius, and CWRU Labre projects are still going out to check on the people they have built a relationship with over the years.  The Frontline Services staff are covering the community and helping those with mental health issues or disabilities find safe places to live.  Jim Schlecht, Tim Walters, Carl Cook and the other staff from Metanoia are keeping their drop in center open in this extreme cold.  We are giving out handwarmers, thermal sleeping bags and thousands of blankets to keep people safe. 

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Added a Few Statistics to the Website

We have posted the 2013 statistics from the shelters.  These statistics show 8,300 people used the shelters in 2013 (Oct. 2012 to September 2013).   There were 6,000 single adults and 646 families who used the shelters in Cuyahoga County.   The average stay in an emergency shelter for a single adult is 18 days and for a family nearly 60 days.   69% of the shelter population leave the emergency shelter with some income (including non-cash income).   While only 15% of the single adults leaving the shelter have earned income.   Single individuals leave the shelter with 67% of the population go to a permanent destination. It is interesting that about 45% of the sheltered homeless have not experienced homelessness in the past.

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Don't Get Sick in Texas if you are Poor

The second most populous state in the union is not a good place to get sick if you are poor.  Texas has 17.9% of their population living below poverty and the state leaders have decided not to extend health coverage to poor people. That is 4.5 million people who do not have an ability to afford health care coverage.  They are too poor to afford health care through the Affordable Health Care Act, and will not have the ability to have 100% of their coverage paid by the federal government.  Some of those living in poverty are children or elderly and so already have health coverage.  Some are disabled or have health care coverage at a job that pays below the poverty rate, but none of the 4.5 million will be able to obtain Medicaid.

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Cold Weather Plans

The Metanoia Project plans to be open tonight, tomorrow and Thursday in addition to our regular week end hours.  We will open tonight and tomorrow in our regular space at St. Malach's at 2459 washington starting at 7pm staying open to about 7am.  Thursday we will open at St. Malachi Center moving over to our regular space later that evening as there are other activities from 7 to 9pm,  We will provide a light meal (at best) and our guests are encouraged to take advantage of regular meal sites for their evening meal.  I am sure that if you want to drop off hot food over the next couple of nights they would love the help.

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Martin Luther King Jr. was a True Revolutionary

I spent part of the day today reading a 1967 speech by Martin Luther King Jr. regarding his opposition to the conflict in Vietnam.   It is an amazing lengthy discussion of the merits of this war and the waste of blood and treasure on this conflict in Southeast Asia.  I was struck by how long and powerfully relevant this speech was for the time.  I cannot think of a venue today in which a non-politician would have opportunity to speak in such detail about a major issue of our time.  We have many 24 hour news channels that we did not have in 1967, and yet we never hear these long discussions of current events.  I would have loved to hear a similar speech by a community leader in 2007 about the War in Iraq or Afghanistan.  King was able to walk through the history of the conflict and the choices we were making in a "society gone mad on war." 

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Good News and Bad News for the Shelters

The budget compromise worked out in Congress over the last two weeks will allow funds going to homeless programs to increase by 9% for 2014.  The problem is that getting to that point will mean some tough choices, and those programs cannot be made whole in 2014.  This year and last we had to cut programs and reduce administrative costs.  Last year, every group took a 5% cut in funds.  Nationally, this is a $80 million above the pre Sequester level of $2.03 billion in 2013. This will mean an additional $2.16 million locally in 2014 for homeless and housing programs.  In the last month, the County decided to cut a number of programs and submit four projects that may or may not get funding. The rules do not allow going back and restoring the funds cut over the last few years, and a couple of projects will most likely have closed down over the last few years.

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Upcoming Events in Cleveland

IRTF's 14th Annual Social Justice Teach In
On Sunday February 9, 2014 the InterReligious Task Force on Central America will host their annual Social Justice Teach In from 11:30 am to 4 p.m. at the CWRU Thwing Center 11111 Euclid Ave., Cleveland Ohio on the campus of Case Western Reserve University.  $10 for the public and free to College and High School Students.  For more information call 961-0003 or go to www.irtfcleveland.org.

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Stand Down Coming Soon Here

January 25, 2014 at 9 a.m. at Public Hall--Everyone is welcome.
Stand Down Flyer was posted on the NEOCH Website here...
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Awful News Out of Orange County California

In 2011, two Fullerton California police officers beat to death a mentally ill homeless man named Kelly Thomas, 37.  The two officers were acquitted of all charges on Monday January 13 in an Orange County court room.  Thomas's mother was quoted in the Huffington Post as saying, "Part of me died that night...They got away with it."  Kelly's father, Ron, was a retired police officer who was devestated by his son's death especially with the release of the security videotape from a nearby building of the encounter with the police on that July evening.  (It is on the internet, but we will not provide a link. It is too gruesome to watch).

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Quick Takes

Everyday I drive by the former Ward Bakery construction site at East 47th and Chester and view the building going on to develop a new headquarters for the Third District Police and wonder will the new building be haunted by the ghosts of Edwardo and Chief.   If people don't remember we have a number of stories in our Grapevine archive about the property called "Camelot" by a group of homeless people who lived there in peace for a couple of years.  

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Sticking up for the Johnson's Poverty Effort

We had a nice story today in the Plain Dealer about activists wanting a new emphasis on poverty in the Plain Dealer.  Thanks to Larry at Organize!Ohio for putting together this event.   We also read about a press conference in Washington DC from Senator Marco Rubio bashing the "War on Poverty" and previewing the conservative response to the high poverty rates in the United States.  I would like to mark the 50th anniversary of the Lyndon Johnson announcement of the "War on Poverty" in January of 1964 as a big step forward for the United States. 

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Tough Day in Cleveland

We had a great plan.  We had so many people working to protect the poorest of our citizens in Cleveland.  We had safety forces, government, and social services all working together to help.  Yet we still lost someone due to the cold. Monday and Tuesday night and Tuesday during the day, we had many teams of workers and volunteers out working to protect people living on the streets.   We offered thermal sleeping gear, blankets, tents, handwarmers, shelter spaces and even nights in a hotel.  There were about a dozen people who refused to come inside no matter what we did.

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More Plans for the Extreme Weather

 The City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County convened a conference call today with social service providers and the Red Cross to make sure that we are ready to serve people living in unstable housing conditions locally.   Here are some of the things we learned:
1. The Metanoia Project at St. Malachi, 2100 Lakeside Shelter and the Community Women's shelter are the points of contact for City and County safety forces.  The RTA, Downtown Cleveland Alliance, St. Paul's and Care Alliance can offer transportation help to get people to these locations. The RTA was offering bus passes to get the person back to their "home" after the crisis is over.
2.  The police and other Public Safety forces can offer a ride if the individual needs help to get out to the cold.

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Extreme Weather Plans Ready for Cleveland

Many are worried about homeless people during this extreme weather.  Most of the shelters and social service providers are on the job today working to keep people safe.  The shelters stay open when it is this cold.  They do not turn people away and they do not make them leave during the day.  There are overnight warming places available (St. Malachi and Seasons of Hope for Women) that serve those who do not go to shelter. The City is also opening the Recreation Centers as warming centers.  The Plain Dealer's Tom Feran has done a series of articles on the cold here, here, and here.

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Handson NEO Collecting Items for Stand Down

The 23rd Homeless Stand Down will take place Saturday, January 25 at Cleveland Public Auditorium from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.  This event provides members of the homeless community and those facing financial and housing uncertainty with medical and social services to assess and assist those in critical need.  Breakfast and lunch, warm winter clothing, coats, boots, personal hygiene items, and compassion are available to attendees as donations permit. 

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We are Still Collecting Blankets

The NEOCH Blanket and donation drive is November 15 to March 15, 2014.  With the weather expected to get down to dangerous lows over the weekend and then next week, we are ready.  We have had scores of people dropping items off this week.  The shelters are ready to keep people inside if necessary. Typically shelter residents leave in the morning and return in the evening, but if it is too cold the County declares an emergency and people stay inside all day.  We will open the overflow shelters so that we do not turn anyone away.  We will most likely open the Metanoia Program on Monday or Tuesday if the temperature continues to decline as is forecast.  All the shelters will do whatever it takes to keep people safe. 

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CAHA Meeting Cancelled in January

We have written about the desire by Cuyahoga Suburban Development staff to learn the addresses of those who live in the suburbs and receive rental assistance from EDEN (mentally ill and other disabled clients).  We have developed a petition to respond to this invasion of privacy on the Change.org website.  We are still collecting signatures here...http://chn.ge/1f8RF6A to sign in support of getting the suburban government out of the business of monitoring the addresses of the disabled.  The staff at First Suburbs Consortium after reading the petition and hearing concerns asked to be put on the agenda for the Cuyahoga Affordable Housing Alliance Meeting.  There was not room on the December meeting agenda, but we made space for the Monday January 6, 2014 CAHA meeting for a fuller discussion.  Right before Christmas, staff of the First Suburbs Consortium dropped out of the meeting. 

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NEOCH Work in 2013

Here are some of the items NEOCH worked on in 2013:

• NEOCH staff worked with other groups to push an expansion of Medicaid in Ohio attending rallies, writing letters and writing editorials to assure that most of our constituents had access to health care.
• NEOCH was able to successfully settle our lawsuit over voter ID with the State of Ohio to extend it until after the 2016 Presidential election.
• Held 12 meetings of homeless people to talk about solutions to homelessness. This included meetings with the Cleveland City Council, County Council and State Representatives.  We also held a meeting with the Cleveland Police after the shooting death of two homeless people in East Cleveland in late 2012. We focused on shelter budget cuts and the impact of Sequestration locally on poor people.

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Names of Those Who Died Listed on the Website

Thanks to Jay Westbrook as one of his last acts of official business provided a few remarks for our Homeless Memorial Day 2013.  The event was at St. Malachi on December 21, 2013 at 7 p.m. as the Metanoia project was getting started for the night.  We had Rev. Dr George Jackson from Agape Renaissance Center and Fr. Tony Schuerger of St. Malachi both offering prayers for those who passed away.  Jim Schlecht of Metanoia Project read the names of those who passed away, and I gave a brief look at the current state of homelessness.  We have a video on the front of our website of the entire service.  We also have a posted the names on our Memorial Section of our website. 

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Homeless Memorial Day Video

NEOCH has posted a video highlight of the Homeless Memorial Day from December 21, 2013 at St. Malachi.  We remember those who we lost over the past year with a candlelight vigil.  This is to honor those who typically are overlooked by society.   This is the 27th Memorial Day for homeless people in Cleveland.  We have posted this on the front of our website as well.

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Medicaid Has Expanded But Just Barely

The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld Medicaid Expansion in Ohio, but by only a 4-3 margin.  Medicaid survives for another day.   It did not make it through the legislative process, but was resurrected at the obscure Controlling Board.  The process of signing up new people started on December 9 in Ohio by going to http://benefits.ohio.gov/ to apply for expanded Medicaid.  This now applies to nearly everyone living in poverty in Ohio no matter if they have children or if they have a disability.  After the information is verified by a staff person from the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, the person will have health insurance.  They will have access to preventative health care, and will not have to rely on emergency room care. 

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Shelters Face Cuts in 2014

There was a vote today on the recommendations for shelter funds for 2014.  These are federal dollars from the 2013 allocation from HUD which involves a 5% cut because of Sequestration.   To fully fund all of our currently funded shelters, services, and housing programs for homeless people we need $24,608,600 and HUD is only giving us $23,995,100.  This means that a few of the shelters will face a large cut in funding and another group of services/shelters will not know if they are going to get funded at all until February 2014.  For five facilities in Cleveland, they are going to wait to see if HUD picks their project based on the amount of money unspent at the national level and competition from every other city in America.

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Received a Strange Call Today

I got a call from a pedestrian who bought a Street Chronicle newspaper today from one of our vendors and wanted a few questions answered.  He confirmed all the information that is on page 2 of the paper (Code of Conduct and newspaper operations).  How much do they pay for the paper--$.35?  Where does the money go when a pedestrian buys a paper--into the pocket of the vendor?  Then he asked, "Do you verify where this money is going to assure that it does not go to drugs or alcohol?"   This is an amazing question. 

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Homeless Count and the Danger of Releasing Numbers

I did not do a good job of describing the NEOCH position on the release of numbers by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.   We have talked about this every year that these numbers come out, and a report is issued for Congress.   This is to prove to legislators that the millions spent on homeless services are worthwhile and not sending good money after bad.   In the 1980s and early 1990s, there were so many exaggerated numbers released by advocates, researchers, local government, and social service providers that Congress demanded some real numbers.  Now, we get this terribly flawed report with no basis in reality.

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Changes Coming to Social Security in 2014

There was news from the Cleveland Identification Collaborative. 

• Printouts will no longer be issued in February at local offices. Printouts were being used as a document needed to get a state identification.
• Security and budget constraints require Social Security to stop the practice of issuing printouts.
• 6 million printouts were issued last year (2012) up from the 200,000 issued in 2002
• Employers can utilize I-Verify to verify employees numbers there is also a business service offered by Social Security which allows for online verification on a fee basis

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Ohio Safer Compared to Other States

In the new report issued by the National Coalition for the Homeless they rank the states according to how dangerous they are for homeless people.  Ohio has been in the top 5 for dangerous states for the past 10 years.  Typically, we have had seven to ten attacks with one or two resulting in death.  Cleveland has seen rock attacks, stun gun attacks, rapes and bricks thrown from cars.  Most of the attacks over the last 14 years took place in Cincinnati and the Dayton area.  It is always strange how cities with a great deal of hostility toward homeless programs and people always are at the top of the list of hate crimes directed at the poor.

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Homeless Memorial Day 2013

December 21, 2013 at 7 p.m. at St. Malachi Candlelight Vigil to remember those who passed away!
Please join us as we remember those who have experienced homelessness and died over the last year.  This is a candlelight vigil as part of the National Homeless Memorial Day taking place in over 100 cities in the United States.  The memorial is on the first day of winter at St. Malachi social hall as part of the Metanoia project at 7 p.m.   We typically have a group of religious leaders who offer prayers for those who died. 
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Hate Crimes Report Released by NCH

Senseless Violence: A Survey of Hate Crimes and Violence against the Homeless in 2012 documents the known cases of violence against homeless individuals in 2012. The report includes descriptions of the cases as well as recommendations to help prevent violence against homeless individuals.
The National Coalition for the Homeless has been tracking hate crimes against homeless individuals since 1999. This year’s report only shows a slight improvement in the number of lethal attacks. In 2012 alone, of the 88 attacks, 18 resulted in deaths.
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Homeless Stand Down Volunteer Opportunities

Greetings from our friends at Hands On NEO:
Please visit our website www.handsonneo.org to view volunteer opportunities for the 2014 Homeless Stand Down to be held at Cleveland Public Auditorium, 500 Lakeside Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44114 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday January 25, 2014. Opportunities in support of the Stand Down begin as early as January 5th for donation sorting and continue through February 2 for CareVan Day support.   Please encourage your co-workers, congregation, and friends to volunteer for a truly worthy cause.

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Nelson Mandela: A Social Justice Champion

A sad day for Social Justice groups around the world with the passing of Nelson Mandela.  Most community organizers, advocates and progressive activists cut their teeth participating in Anti-Apartheid demonstrations.  I joined a group at Case Western Reserve pushing the university to divest of investments in South Africa until their racist form of government was ended.  We had demonstrations and pushed the board of trustees to divest.  Mandela has to be considered one of the greatest champions of Social Justice of the last century.  He persevered and prevailed through his strength of spirit.  He inspired a generation of social change agents throughout the world.   He was willing to die for freedom, but through his imprisonment he started a movement. 

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Woodchoppers Ball on December 7

Please remember that the Woodchopper's Ball is this weekend.   This fundraiser for NEOCH is held on Saturday December 7 at 8 p.m. at the Kent Stage.  Here is a detailed description of each guitarist.  Nine of the best finger-style guitar players in America come together at The Kent Stage for the 13th Annual Woodchoppers Ball. The Woodchoppers Ball is a Benefit for the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless. All seats reserved.

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Donate to NEOCH on #GivingTuesday

The Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless is a valuable essential service in Cleveland.  We have:

• Kept advocacy that has an impact on homeless people such as the Change.org petition to protect the privacy rights of homeless people in the community. 
• Regularly updated the Homeless Street Card as a resource for those on the streets of Cleveland to direct them to the services available in the community.  
• Marketed HousingCleveland.org to other Counties and it is regularly used by 100 housing case workers every month and 153 unique users a day conducting 57,000 searches in the last 28 days. 
• We host the Homeless Memorial Day on December 21 every year for the last 26 years to remember those who were homeless and passed away. 

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Where Have All the Homeless Gone?

I am just amazed by the small number of people sleeping downtown these days.  Only a dozen years ago there were 40 people at the Welfare building. Public Square had at least a dozen people sleeping, and Superior Ave always had people at East 9th because of the heated sidewalks.    They are all gone.  No one sleeps at the Welfare building and there are rarely people on Public Square.   Where have all the homeless people gone in Cleveland?   On the Friday after Thanksgiving since 2000, we have gone downtown to count the number of homeless people sleeping outside.  In the past, we had 15 people to cover the downtown because there were so many people sleeping outside. 

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Change.org Petition to Keep Private the Addresses of Tenants

I don't understand how the petition to bring "Brian Griffin--the Dog" back to the Fox TV Show Family Guy has 96,000 people signing on to the Change.org, while important petitions about the right to privacy among tenants living in the suburbs of Cleveland has only 29 supporters.  A talking cartoon dog is funny, but asking the suburbs of Cleveland to follow the law should be a no brainer.  Besides, its a cartoon dog that can talk, the writers can bring Brian the Dog back anytime they want in a fantasy world.  We are petitioning a real issue that could have negative consequence for real people in the suburbs.  Just click here if you have not signed this petition yet http://chn.ge/1f8RF6A. 

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Food Can Kill Those who Sleep Outside

As many Americans sit down at Thanksgiving to break bread with family and friends, there are some who feel a sadness that everyone does not have the means for a feast in late November and so they want to volunteer to serve a meal to the "less fortunate."  There are thousands who reflect on the holiday and want to take a day to help the hungry.  Reservations to serve Thanksgiving meals are typically full in June of the year, and some of the big providers take reservations the previous year for this Thanksgiving.  Then there are those religious organizations who feel it is important to "minister" and serve those who stay outside.  This is a core belief for some to bring their understanding of God to people having a rough spot in their life with something warm to fill their stomachs.  

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Next Affordable Housing Meeting

One of the most fragile groups because of the Sequestration and the fact that regular federal budgets are not passed is the public housing authorities around the United States.  We worry about how the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority in Cleveland is surviving with the unstable funding from the federal government.  They have taken hit after hit and forced to rely on reserves that have dwindled over the last five years to house the thousands of people waiting for affordable housing locally.  They have done everything they can to avoid evictions as a result of budget cuts, but it is a huge juggling act.  This next Cuyahoga Affordable Housing Alliance meeting is Monday December 2, 2013 at 1:30 p.m. in the lower level of the US Bank Building (1350 Euclid Ave. ) and will feature both sides of the CMHA programs.

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Flawed Homeless Count Released

The biggest waste of money by the Department of Housing and Urban Development has to be the annual count of homeless people.  We always equate this with counting a gumball machine full of Skittles as you pour them out onto the floor.  The first question for both is "why?"  Why would you want to count the colorful Skittles while they are falling on to the floor and are still in motion?  And why would you count homeless people on one day as they traveled around the city?   The second question is how valid is a count in which untrained volunteers drive around trying to play this game of "is that guy a homeless guy sleeping or a pile of clothing?"  NEOCH never wastes its time with this silly undertaking in late January or February.

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Ohio Senate Votes to Reduce Early Voting

This week the Ohio Senate voted to eliminate the week in which citizens can register to vote and vote at the same time.  They also have reduce early voting time and bar the local boards of election from opening on Sundays.   We absolutely oppose this law and have posted this video and sent testimony down to the Ohio legislature committee (posted on our website as a pdf).  If we value democracy in America, then we should do everything we can to encourage voting and make it as easy as possible.
 
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Posted the Stories from Issue 20.3

We got around to posting the articles from the Street Newspaper Issue #20.3 on the streets this last summer.  This issue had a number of really good stories in this issue.   We had a number of interns this summer who did a few stories for the newspaper.   There is an article by 10 of our vendors, and a profile of the Free Clinic.  We have a number of commentaries including the difference between Atlanta and Cleveland in services to homeless people.  There is a profile of the Sub Zero Mission and their effort to keep people living who stay on the streets.  

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Change.org Petition to Protect the Privacy of the Disabled

The Cleveland Plain Dealer featured an article about a brewing dispute between the suburbs and EDEN inc. over the rights for the suburban communities to know the addresses of all EDEN voucher holders.  We have started a Change.org petition to address this issue.  The First Suburbs Consortium demanded that EDEN turn over their list of addresses this summer before they would be willing to support public dollars going to the last Permanent Housing Project owned by EDEN.    Both Cuyahoga County and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have sided with EDEN saying that they do not have to turn over the names or addresses of their tenants.


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Final on the Hand Up Gala Fundraiser

Eight people won items in the auction and donated them to homeless people.   Three of the items were for Akron institutions (Symphony, Civic Theatre, and Museum) and we sent those down to the Domestic Violence Shelter for distribution to their clients.  The other five items were distributed today at the Homeless Congress meeting.  The tickets and the football all went over well among the group.  We had a record turnout of over 50 people attend the meeting today.   All the items from the auction went out to the winners.   All the thank you notes went out to every one of the groups that contributed to the auction. Thanks to everyone who helped out to make this event special.
 
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City of Lorain Foolish Panhandling Campaign

ZERO TOLERANCE is the theme by local businesses in the City of Lorain over panhandling?  Yes, they are worried about people begging for money.  No, not zero tolerance for kids who become homeless, or food stamp cuts, or failing schools.   They do not have a zero tolerance for manufacturing jobs relocating to foreign countries or cuts to the mental health safety net, but that a guy living on the edge is asking for spare change.  Talk about misplaced priorities in Lorain--ganging up on guys with untreated behavioral health issues because they are viewed as the reason business is down in this depressed city. 

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Food Stamps Recipients Face Tough Times

All Bad News for the Food Stamps Program
Bad:  On November 1, there was a cut to benefits that had been put in effect at the start of the downturn.  This cost each household a small amount of their monthly allocation by about 5%.  This was tough to absorb and we know that Cosgrove and some of the other meal programs have seen a sharp increase in people requesting help with food.  The Plain Dealer had a nice guest column from Daniel Saltzman of Dave's Supermarket about this issue earlier this week, and an editorial condemning the cuts.

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Woodchopper's Ball NEOCH Fundraiser

For 11 years, Brian Henke, has been organizing the Woodchopper's Ball.   It is a fundraiser for the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, but more importantly it brings together some of the most amazing guitarists in North America.  This year the show will feature all national artists except for Brian.  Charley Brown has hosted all 11 shows in the past, and again will be the Master of Ceremony.   Tickets are available at the Kent Stage.   This year's Woodchopper's Ball is December 7, 2013 at 8 p.m.  Tickets are $25 in advance and $28 on the day of the show.

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Street Card Published and Available

After a long delay the updated Street Card is out and on the streets.  We have published the new Street Card and made it available on our website.  This was the most difficult update of the Street Card in the last 20 years.   We have been trying to figure out how to incorporate the new Coordinated intake with access to the shelters.  There were rumors that the Central Intake for families was moving and we did not want the Street Card to be published with incorrect information. There were major changes over the last year with the loss of a number of agencies that went out of business or were merged.

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Homeless Veteran's Suicide

I feel awful about this encounter we had with a veteran last week. A 30 year old veteran sent a suicide note by e-mail last week to a group of agencies in Cleveland, and NEOCH was on the list.  I don't know why we were on the list, and the e-mail went to our spam folder.   Two of the individuals on the list called the police and even though the vet had meticulously put the GPS longitude and latitude of his body, the police had a hard time finding him.  I do not believe that I had met the young man, but he seemed like an intelligent but troubled person.   Why did he pick out NEOCH to send the suicide note and not the Veteran's Administration?   He had a city in New York listed as his e-mail address and the beginning of the document looked like religious tracts that we get everyday typically asking to claim lost funds, which made it more likely that the e-mail was sent to spam.

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Veteran Success Story

We have one positive and one sad veteran story for Veteran's Day.  This is the story of many groups and individuals working together can move mountains.  The Veteran's Affair staff found a 67 year old female veteran living on the streets of Cleveland in a car near a church on the near West Side of Cleveland.  She refused to go into shelter because she could not give up her two dogs.  One dog could be considered a companion animal for fair housing consideration; two dogs are a stretch.  The veteran refused to take the animals to the APL out of fear that they would be destroyed.  This made it impossible to find even a temporary place to live.

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National Homeless Update

What is happening in other parts of the country to homeless people? The best part of the National Coalition for the Homeless meeting is when we go around the table and each talk about issues facing homeless people around the country.  Here are a few brief updates:
Massachusetts

• The Mass. legislature has introduced a bill to protect the rights of the transgendered in public services including homeless shelters.
• Boston is developing 32 units of housing for LGBTQ youth who have experienced homelessness.
• They are expanding the speakers bureau locally to teach homeless program board members about homelessness.
• There are disturbing trends in youth homeless with mental illnesses, and as most cities are seeing a rise in family homelessness.

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How Much Does a Panhandler Actually Make?

There are amazing over estimates of panhandlers in our community.  Many believe these guys are making hundreds of dollars and a living on easy street.  A new study was released which paints a different picture of the life of a panhandler. Research out of San Francisco surveyed 146 panhandlers and found that they averaged $25 per day.  This in one of the wealthiest cities in America with one of the more sizable homeless and panhandling populations in America.  The Union Square Business Improvement District commissioned the study and found that even if the average panhandler worked 7 days a week they would not be able to afford housing at the fair market rent in one of the most expensive rental cities in America. 

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Hurricane Sandy Anniversary

 New York City was giving up on Hurricane Sandy victims two weeks ago.  Repairs are still in process.  We heard on Hear and Now on NPR from those displaced who were at their wits end with the FEMA.   The paperwork problems and the debate about rebuilding on the coast are still on going issues.  There are still hundreds homeless from the October 2012 disaster.  Remember, it took months for the Congress to approve disaster assistance with a significant number voting against spending federal dollars on this recovery.  There are still many stuck waiting for government and insurance companies deciding if a homeowner can rebuild so close to the water. 

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Last Day to Donate to the Hand Up Gala

This is the last day that you can donate and still be involved in the auction.  We had over 200 people who enjoyed the meal.  The other aspect of this program is that it is a fundraiser for the Bishop Cosgrove Center and the Homeless Coalition.  All the proceeds raised are split between the two organizations.  The food and flowers and table cloths are all donated.  (Thanks to Executive Caterers for the china, table cloths and napkins--They were great.)  The proceeds from this extraordinary event go to preperation for the winter and the Transformational Art Center.

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Medicaid Expansion Update

As expected the Governor was sued over his decision to expand Medicaid.  Will this be decided before January when people begin to see the benefits of the expansion.  The Plain Dealer has posted a story that the case is on the fast track, but it still provides uncertainty in the system.  All new expansions of government are rocky at first, but these obstacles seem impossible.  People get nervous over change, but it is amazing how so many rational people are trying to keep people from obtaining health care.

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Olmsted Falls Students Hear from Street Voices

The Plain Dealer covered this story last week regarding the students who spent the night outside in order to raise money for the Labre Project.  One missing piece of the article was it was the NEOCH speaker, Simona, who spoke to the group.  She has written for the Street Newspaper the past two issues here and here. She wrote about her experiences as a homeless Mom in both Atlanta and Cleveland even comparing the two cities in the last issue of the Street Chronicle.  More than 50 young people participated in this event on October 19 in Olmsted Falls.   They raised funds for the Labre project at St. Ignatius.  Labre is a program to go out on Sundays and build relationships with homeless people.  They talk, visit and sometimes even pray with the people who live outside.

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Senate Needs to Confrim Mel Watt This Week

Take Action Today!!!

The National Low Income Housing Coalition is asking volunteers to call Senator Portman and urge that he support the nomination of former US Representative of North Carolina Mel Watt for director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.  His nomination was voted out of the Banking Committee in July and he has waited for a vote by the full Senate. The current director of FHFA has been hostile to the National Housing Trust fund and advocates advocacy to reduce the impact of the foreclosure crisis.

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Updates from Around Ohio on Homelessness

As part of the National Coalition for the Homeless Board meeting, we go around the table and give a presentation about housing, homelessness, and civil rights issues from the field.  I, as a board member, gather information from around Ohio to try to present to the NCH Board.  Pictured here is fellow board member, Donald Whitehead who now resides in Florida.  Donald is a great ally for people experiencing homelessness in Ohio as the former Director of NCH and former director of the Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless.

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Flowers Make the Event

Six local florists donated to the Hand Up Gala, and they really transform the event.  We had some amazing collection of florists who contributed to this year's event.  Berghaus Flowers went above and beyond donating a large number of the centerpieces for this event.  They have helped us out for years on this event and we appreciate their assistance.  A new participant this year was Segelin's Florists over on Carnegie in the new Doubletree Hotel in University Circle.  They provided a number of wonderful arrangements with Asiatic lilies that a number of participants commented were striking.  We also must thank Monica's Flowers in Garfield Hts. for helping again this year as well as Lyndhurst Florist.

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Elected Officials Helped to Serve Homeless People

It was nice to see two elected officials showed up to serve the homeless and hungry at the Hand Up Gala. County Councilman Dale Miller attended and helped to serve.  Also, Ohio House member Marlene Anielski rolled up her sleeves and put on the mandatory hair nets to serve the population.   The purpose of this event is to turn on its head the traditional silent auction conducted by most non-profits.  Instead of having our members dress up and go to a nice dinner to hear a speaker and eat rubbery chicken, we flipped the fundraiser around.  We have a nice meal for 200 of our constituents and served by the politicians who would have normally been speaking at a similar event. 

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New Street Newspaper Available on the Streets

The brand new paper is out on the streets this week.  It features a few quality news stories in the paper including an article about what happens when your family cannot afford to bury you.  There is a new article about the attempt by homeless people to pass legislation to oversee the shelters.   Check it out now by purchasing a paper. We do not post the articles on our website until the vendors have a chance to make money from the sale of the paper.  There is always a vendor at the West Side Market with papers and usually you can find someone downtown.

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Hand Up Gala is a Successful

The fourth annual Hand Up Gala was a tremendous event.  Only WKSU reported from the event unfortunately.  We will have a photo gallery up on our website over the weekend.  We have a special facebook page which has a few photos on it, and we will post a gallery on our regular facebook page.   Below are a few pictures from today's event.  We did serve over 200 people and the guests were very impressed with the food especially the dessert.  Chef Sharon Delk was wonderful in her quiet and reserved manner.   We will have more details over the next week. 

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Hand Up Gala Dinner was 10/18

 Today is the big day for the Hand Up Gala and one of the most unique events in the homeless community.  The tables are set and the Cosgrove has just completed a nice renovation.  This will be the unveiling of the renovation.  It is beautiful over in one of the most important day centers in the community.  People can still donate to the event and participate in the auction up until October 30, 2013.  This event is both a fundraiser for the Bishop Cosgrove Center and the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless.  It is also a special occasion for homeless people to enjoy a once in a lifetime dinner with music and fine dining place settings.


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Governor Goes to Contolling Board to Expand Medicaid

The Governor has decided to seek approval from the Controlling Board to expand Medicaid.  On its face this is very good news.  If Ohio does not expand Medicaid, hundreds of thousands will not be eligible for health insurance and the State will see billions of dollars of support from the federal government.   This is prudent in that for three years, 100% of the cost will be absorbed by the federal government.  Where is the risk here?   Why not take billions from the State of Ohio? It would seem that the politically savvy Governor would have lined up the votes or twisted arms to make sure that he gets his way, but it seems that he has left this all up to divine intervention to assure the votes according to a speech he gave today at the Cleveland Clinic.

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Early Voting Has Begun

For homeless people the easiest way to vote is in person at the Board of Elections for early voting. NEOCH encourages homeless people to vote in person at the Board of Elections early.   To request an early voting ballot by mail click here.  It is much easier because just like voting by mail you do not have to show identification.  The hours for early voting are:

• 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday, October 7, 2013, through Friday, November 1, 2013;
• 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Saturday, November 2, 2013;
• 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Sunday, November 3, 2013;
• 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday, November 4, 2013.
 
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More Impacts of Government Shutdown on the Local Housing Programs

Yesterday at the Cuyahoga Affordable Housing Alliance Meeting we learned a little more about the impact of the Federal Government shutdown on housing and homeless programs.   The FHA is still in business doing verification of home loans, unfortunately, the IRS is not in business to verify income.  This will grind the home sales market to a standstill eventually.   No one is working at HUD to sign off on projects currently under construction.  It makes it difficult to pay construction and tradesmen working on subsidized housing projects locally. Contrary to popular belief there are affordable housing projects being developed locally.   There are permanent supportive housing projects that are supposed to open this winter, but there is no one at HUD to sign off on the work. 

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Library Looking at Homeless Patrons

The largest drop in shelter in the community is the Public Library system.  Many homeless are dismissed from the shelters in the morning and then are not allowed to claim a bed until the late afternoon.  Those who do not work or are not following up on medical appointments hang out at the library.   They are reading the paper, using the computer to look for jobs or just utilizing the people's university by reading.  The shelters have for years operated on a strategy that homeless people need to be out during the day looking for jobs and housing.  Over the last few years, the county has pushed to reduce services in the shelters, and asking instead that the staff work on housing issues.   They want services to be delivered when the person gets into housing and not when they are in an emergency situation.

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Strategic Plan Posted on the NEOCH Website

This summer the Board and staff of the Coalition put together a plan for the next four years.  They gathered surveys from homeless people, advocates and members of the Coalition to develop priorities.  It was decided not to change the mission of the Coalition, and we set out some values for the Coalition to guide our planning.  Finally and most importantly, we set down five strategic objectives.  All of these are published on our website here.  Internally, now staff will use these broad concepts to come up with specific goals for the agency.  We will figure out a way to accomplish these five strategic objectives.

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Impact of Government Shut Down on Homeless

The National Low Income Housing Coalition has done a good job of summarizing the impact of the shutdown on homeless and housing programs.   Locally, the HUD office is shut down and no staff will be attending the next CAHA meeting if the shutdown continues.  The next Cuyahoga Affordable Housing Alliance meeting is Monday October 7 in the lower level of the US Bank Building with Lou Tisler of Neighborhood Housing Services and Bill Whitney of the Cuyahoga County Land Bank.  Here are the comments from the National Low Income Housing Coalition:

On Monday September 30, Congress failed to provide FY14 funding for the federal government to operate, which caused the government to shut down beginning at midnight on October 1. The House refused to pass a “clean” continuing resolution (CR) and the Senate refused to pass a CR that made funding contingent on modifying the Affordable Care Act, leaving the two chambers at an impasse.

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Unpublished letter to the editor resonse to hateful commentary

This letter that I penned was never published in the Plain Dealer, but the original letter should be corrected with facts and in my opinion should have never been published because it is hate speech.  There is a link to the original letter, but I would avoid reading it if you have high blood pressure.
Dear Plain Dealer Editor:

I was surprised to read the letter from Carmen Melillo Sr. in the Plain Dealer on September 6, because I was unaware that editorial policy had changed to allow grossly inaccurate and stereotypical information to be published without any clarification.  I have never understood why a paper allows anonymous hateful and incorrect comments on their electronic platform, but did not realize that the paper had decided to allow blatantly false claims in the letter’s section.

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60 Minutes Piece on Mentally Ill and Jails

There was an eye-opening piece on 60 Minutes on Sunday regarding the treatment of the mentally ill in America.   This is what Congress should be debating today instead of a four year old health care passed law. They focused on the Cook County jail labelling it the largest insane asylum in America.  I think that the Los Angeles jail could make a legitimate claim on that title, but I am not sure it is a fight that either city would want to engage in.  The reality is that mentally ill people run into problems with the law often because they have a hard time finding help.  The Justice Center downtown has a significant number of mentally ill people.   This was a good hard look at the failing mental health system, and the relationship with the mass shootings in Aurora, Navy Yard, Tucson, Newtown, and Virginia Tech.   We have seen this play out locally in East Cleveland and on Imperial Ave.

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Voting Decision Posted on the NEOCH Website

Back at the beginning of August, Federal Judge Alegenon Marbley decided in our favor to extend the agreement between NEOCH and the State of Ohio until 2016.   This will standardize how provisional ballots are counted and will assist homeless people to vote in the upcoming Presidential election in person on Election Day.  We posted the entire decision here.  It is good reading because Judge Marbley has some wonderful language defending his decision. 

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NEOCH Endorses Issue 1 Human Services Levy

The Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless Board of Trustees debated the merits of the replacement human services levy on the November ballot and decided to support Issue 1.  For those who do not know, the County has placed a replacement levy on the ballot for November 5 to support Health and Human Services locally.  This is the first time there will be a vote in an odd year when there are typically only local municipal issues on the ballot.  This became necessary because of huge cuts in the last two budgets from the State of Ohio to local governments and the hostility toward expanding Medicaid to serve our population. 

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Updated the list of School Liaisons on the NEOCH Website

 It is state and federal law that every school district assign one staff person to interact with children and young people struggling with their housing.  These homeless liaisons will help to keep a child from having their school disrupted if their family losing their housing during the school year.  They will find the best placement for the child either in their school of origin or in a new school if there are domestic violence issues.  These liaisons will make every effort to provide transportation and a safe return to school as soon as possible for the child. We have an updated list on our website here.

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New Facebook Page on the Hand Up Gala

As we prepare for the upcoming fund raiser, the Hand Up Gala, we have created a Facebook page just for the event.  Thanks to our friend Kim, we have a page dedicated to this unique event.  We are sending out the invitations this week to previous supporters of the event.  We will send out another mailing next week to some of our friends in the community.  In case you have not seen, the Hand Up Gala is a fine dining meal we serve to homeless and hungry in Cleveland as an alternative to the silent auction dinners we had in the past.  We had some nice events for our members in the past at Massimos, and a couple of homeless people would get to enjoy the evening.  We decided for all the staff and volunteer time, we should design an event in which our most important constituents (the people we serve) can have a special time.  Three years ago, we partnered with the Cosgrove Center to host a day for homeless people to enjoy music, table cloths, floral arrangements and a wonderful meal.

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Next CAHA Meeting focuses on Foreclosures and the Land Bank

The next meeting of the Cuyahoga Affordable Housing Alliance is October 7 at 1:30 and will feature Bill Whitney of the Cuyahoga Land Bank and Lou Tisler of Neighborhood Housing Services.  Bill will give his regular update on the clean up of the foreclosure crisis in Cleveland.  The land bank is taking down shells of housing so that the land can be re-developed into parks, farm, or housing.  They are also working with a few community groups on creative solutions to the protect Cleveland neighborhoods going forward.  Recently, they were granted permission to use some of the foreclosure assistance money to take down more abandoned properties when the Treasury Department decided to allow the hardest hit fund to go to demolish housing.  This had been used to save people's homes and now it will be to wipe away abandoned housing.   Someday at CAHA after the foreclosure crisis is over we will have to discuss if the American dream of homeownership is now dead for millions of lower income families now that the housing bubble has burst and we taken down thousands of units of housing.  

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The Future of the Cuyahoga Affordable Housing Alliance Meetings

The last CAHA meeting was about the future of HUD in Ohio.  In a cost saving move HUD will be closing nearly all of the HUD multifamily field offices in the United States. These are the offices that oversee private landlords who serve low income families (Lupica, Rainbow Terrace, Emeritus House).  Every resident in the building gets a subsidy from the federal government.  HUD monitors the quality of these buildings, assures compliance with federal rules and is the government watchdog to make sure that the buildings maintain occupancy rates.  The Cincinnati office has already closed with Columbus and Cleveland closing their multifamily offices in 2014.   They are moving staff to DETROIT?? and Chicago.  Does anyone find it ironic that HUD multifamily staff will be located in a bankrupt city with a similar number of abandoned properties as the area around Chernobyl in the Ukraine?

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South Carolina Reverses Criminalization of Homeless

We posted two blog entries about the absurd Columbia South Carolina law that would require homeless people to seek shelter or go to jail.  With all the national attention and pressure put on the City from national groups like the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Law Center, the petitions on Change.org and the national media stories was too much for the City Council.  They backed away from the law and will go in a different direction.  It is amazing to me that they did not have the backing of their own police, and that not one council member saw the potential problems associated with this legislation to vote against it. 

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Strange Article in the Plain Dealer About Housing

There was a strange and long article in the Plain Dealer last week from Stephen Koff regarding "social engineering"  at the Department of Housing and Urban Development that you might have missed.  The article suggests that enforcing a Civil Rights era law could be "social engineering."  Then a letter was published on Friday that shows the fear and mythology that has developed around the Housing Choice voucher program and Public Housing in our community.  First, the letter was highly offensive and incorrect, and should not have been printed in the paper.  Ms. Melillo has no proof that "incoming section 8 people bring their bad habits and culture with them--violence, drugs, prostitution, deterioration and loud music..."

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Even Police Oppose South Carolina Forced Shelter Law

We wrote about this "crazy South Carolina law"  in the last two week, but it turns out that not even the police agree with the scope of this law.  Huffington Post printed an article on August 28, detailing Columbia Interim Police Chief Ruben Santiago's opposition to the new law.  The National Law Center has been raising concerns about this issue and staff appeared on MSNBC last week.  The Huffington Post quoted the acting police chief saying, " We can't just take people to somewhere they don't want to go.  I can't do that. I won't do that." 

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Marcia Leaving the Board

Our former Board and staff member, Marcia Bufford has left the city.  She was currently serving as Board Treasurer after retiring from three years as Board President.  She started out in 1997 as a volunteer with the Homeless Stand Down recruiting and training other volunteers. She then took a turn as an Americorps*VISTA with CTO and with NEOCH.  She did tenant and community organizing for the two organizations.  She leaves today for greener pastures in another state.  She could not find a job here after working with homeless people and children for over a decade.

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Hand Up Gala Date Announced

One of the most unique events in the community is a collaboration between Catholic Charities and the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless called the Hand Up Gala.  The 2013 event is set for October 18, 2013 at the Bishop Cosgrove Center on Superior.  Most of the non-profit agencies in Cleveland have a once a year dinner and silent auction.  This event turns that concept on its head.  The main beneficiaries are homeless and hungry people in Cleveland Ohio.  We have a chef prepare a four star meal and we provide all the atmosphere of a high end restaurant.  

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Promissory Note Still Comes Up Short for Housing

50 years ago, African American leaders gathered in DC to seek justice and equality.  Most remember Martin Luther King Jr. delivering  the single best oratory speech since the Gettysburg Address, but John Lewis, A. Phillip Randolph and Roy Wilkins also gave powerful speeches.  Just focusing on the world of housing which was a critical plank in the push for jobs and freedom in 1963 there have been strides, but the United States has a long way to go to repay the debt.  We have seen poverty and homelessness disproportionately impact African Americans for 150 years.

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Satire: Do We Need Early Voting At All?

Thank you, Ohio legislators for protecting us from having to get up from our Playstations on the weekend to go vote!  We are so glad that you are saving us from President Obama who spent time and resources in Ohio to open up weekend voting so that we will have less time to spend with our families on that weekend before the election in 2014.   We "support" State Representative John Becker's effort to cut down on early voting because 35 days is just too tempting to try to vote multiple times with so many days available. Ohioans may vote the first week in October and then forget and try to vote again on Election Day.

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Columbia South Carolina Passes Crazy Law

Columbia South Carolina passed a shocking ordinance to limit the number of homeless people within their borders by a unanimous vote of the City Council.  It is easy to laugh this off as another crazy law from backward legislators, but this law is especially disturbing.  Urban homelessness disproportionately impacts African Americans in the United States.  In Cuyahoga County 80% of the homeless population are black while according to the US Census the overall county statistics show that only 30% of the total population are African American.  The Columbia South Carolina Mayor is black and four out of the seven City Council members are black yet they all voted to make it illegal to be homeless in the city.

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CAHA Meeting for 9/9/13 Looks at Land Trusts

The next Cuyahoga Affordable Housing Alliance meeting is moved to September 9, 2013 because of Labor Day. This meeting we will look at the changes that are taking place with HUD locally and how this will impact Cleveland tenants living in HUD backed apartments, current landlords and even the CAHA meetings in the future.  We will also get a good overview of the Land Trust program (not the Land Bank program). 

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City of Miami Working to Overturn Deal with Homeless People

Before Cleveland homeless individuals settled with the City in 2000, Miami lawyers struck an agreement to step back from the effort to make it illegal to be homeless.  Word came out that the current city government is working on ways to get out from under this 1998 settlement.  The National Coalition for the Homeless wrote a letter condemning these attempts to scrap the Pottinger settlement.   

The National Coalition for the Homeless is very concerned that the City of Miami is working to cancel its agreement with those experiencing homelessness in the Pottinger settlement of 1998.

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Cato Institue Publishes Flawed Report

The Cato Institute updated a report from 1995 and published what can only be characterized as the dumbest research projects ever published.  The report titled "The Work vs. Welfare Trade Off: 2013" might be the most absurd collection of disjointed statistics that has ever been put down on paper.  This report has no redeeming value in any policy debate that I could think of except maybe in showing that the minimum wage is too low in many states.  Cato "researchers" have lumped together entitlements such as food stamps with housing assistance limited by a significant lack of supply to Medicare limited to a small number of people to make the case that "welfare" may pay better than work pays.

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Veterans Homelessness in the Community

There are many in the community who do not like homeless people.  Much of this has to do with myths and misconceptions about those struggling with housing.  There are two populations which get near universal support: kids and vets.  Homeless children are innocent and did not ask to be without housing.  They are often the victim of their parents bad decisions or problems revolving around the inability for the parent to find a job or maintain housing.  Veterans are viewed by most as the "deserving poor" because they served their country, and often have problems associated with the trauma or personal demons from combat.

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Panhandling Ruled Constitutional by Appeals Court

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Ohio and Michigan) upheld a lower court decision that found the Grand Rapids Police gave a ticket to two homeless people for asking for money.  The court ruled the statute that made it a crime to beg for money illegal.  The court found that this was an infringement on the free speech protections of the First Amendment.  The court found that the Supreme Court has never specifically ruled that an individual asking for money is engaged in expression, they did find that organizations were protected for soliciting charitable funds.  The court found that Michigan had the right to regulate soliciting funds.  It could not prohibit begging for money by criminal law.

The Detroit News has a nice summary of the ruling here.  The two individuals, James Speet and Ernest Sims, sued in federal court to dismiss the ticket.  Speet was holding a sign that said, "Cold and Hungry, God Bless." He pled guilty when the police issued his ticket, and was unable to pay the $198 fine.  

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Advocates Support ABA Homeless Resolution

This will not likely make much national news, but it should be mentioned.  On August 12, the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates passed a resolution calling on the U.S. government at all levels to promote and implement the human right to housing.
 
In the resolution, the ABA "urges governments to promote the human right to adequate housing for all through increased funding, development and implementation of affordable housing strategies and to prevent infringement of that right."
 
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Housing 101 Workshop for September

The Housing101 workshop is an opportunity to learn more about housing and sign up to use the HousingCleveland.org website.  It is directed at staff working with very low income and homeless people including social workers, case worker, and advocates.  One goal is to get more case workers signed up to use the Special Needs functions of Housing Cleveland.org.  The other goal is to teach case workers about how to access fair housing, central intake and permanent supportive housing.  Finally, the goal is to teach participants about the basic landlord tenant law. 

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Cuts to the Shelter Dollars Announced

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the allocation for new projects in the United States.  Cleveland/Cuyahoga County asked for $25.59 million, but received only $24.28 million.   Local officials are happy and "grateful" that they only received a 5% cut.  There was a new Permanent Supportive Housing Project and more Shelter Plus Care vouchers.   The million dollars lost would have helped disabled homeless people pay rent to exit the shelters.

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Rights of LGBT Community and Homelessness

The last Cuyahoga Affordable Housing Alliance meeting this week featured Kris Keniray of the Housing Research and Advocacy Center gave a presentation on a change in the fair housing law being implemented by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  In 2012, HUD published the rule which regulates all programs funded by federal housing dollars provides for equal access to housing regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity (contained in the Federal Register Feb. 3, 2012 Vol. 77 No. 23).  The new rules went into effect on March 5, 2012, and governs Public Housing, the Voucher program, Block Grant funding, HOME dollars, FHA mortgages, and even Emergency Shelter grants.


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We Won Our Extension of our Voter ID Agreement

Federal District Court Judge Algenon Marbley released his decision this morning to extend our agreement with the State of Ohio through the next Presidential Election at the end of 2016.   We had asked for an agreement through 2024 (so three presidential elections) and we got one.   This only means we need to work for a clarification of the law in the next four years or seek additional time on the agreement if there is still a need based on the issues that come up in 2014 or 2016.  It is likely that the State of Ohio attorneys who advocated on behalf of Secretary of State Jon Husted that the agreement should end will appeal this decision.

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Affordable Housing Stories in the News

There are a bunch of stories in the media over the last few weeks about affordable housing. The first and most important was the Plain Dealer support for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program that the Cleveland Housing Network called our attention to in their newsletter.  In an article by one of the reporters separated from the Plain Dealer wrote about the concern by advocates over the loss of the Tax Credit program.  The tax credit program is not the best way to develop affordable housing because the housing is not really affordable to the lowest income people in our community, but it is still an important program.  Typically, the rents are reduced but they are not reduced to the point of the housing voucher program or Public Housing.  

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Congress Holds Hearing on Poverty without Anyone Living in Poverty

Congressman and Republican Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan hosted a hearing on poverty in America and failed to include anyone currently living in poverty.  NEOCH is in business to provide a voice to those often forgotten by society, and we could have provided any number of individuals to help illustrate the point.  We could have sent a number of our Street Voices speakers such as Don to talk about long term health issues that keep him living in poverty.   The long waits for the state to determine if a person is in fact disabled and deserves government support to keep them in poverty for the rest of their lives is another reason for poverty in America. 

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New Homeless Chronicle is on the Streets

The new issue of the Street Chronicle is now on the streets.  All the vendors have picked up their paper and are on the streets selling the paper.  A number of interns provided much of the content, which is exceptional for this paper.  We have a story about the new Veterans Center on Euclid Ave. and one about the Free Clinic of Greater Cleveland. Many of the vendors added stories to this issue including one from Diana who was going blind while living in the shelters.  Delores reflected on her friend Linda, and Buzzy wrote about his new apartment.   An especially revealing article was from Jennifer who talked about the relationship between domestic violence and the child custody issues locally.

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