Cleveland Heights Gives Away Their Homeless Dollars

Cleveland Heights Can't Find Enough People In Danger of Homelessness

From the minutes posted on the Cleveland Heights Website for City Council Meeting April 20, 2011:

"Previously, council authorized the City Manager to enter into an agreement with Cuyahoga County for expenditure of funds received by the City from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program. The agreement actually provided for the County to administer Six Hundred Ninety Nine Thousand Eight Hundred Ninety Four Dollars ($699,894.00) in funding that was to go to Homeless Prevention services to qualified Cleveland Heights residents. During the course of administering the program we expended less money than we expected to and there has not been enough demand to use all of those funds just for Cleveland Heights residents. Although I will say we have spent over $136,000.00 that have helped 67 Cleveland Heights households and 200 persons. It has been a good expenditure of money, we are just not able to spend this all for Cleveland Heights residents by the deadlines imposed by the program. We believe it is in the best interest to enter into a revision of this agreement.

Section 1 of this resolution authorizes the City Manager to amend the agreement with Cuyahoga County to allow the County to administer the remainder of the funds by giving priority to Cleveland Heights residents but also provide Homeless Prevention services to eligible persons in portions of Cuyahoga County outside of Cleveland Heights. We are providing a minimum of 20% of the remaining funds be utilized for Cleveland Heights residents. I offer Resolution No. 40-2011(PD) for passage tonight.”

Mayor Kelley accepted Resolution No. 40-2011(PD).
Roll Call: Ayes: Montlack, Stephens, Tumeo, Wilcox, Caplan, Kelley
Nays: None
Resolution passed.

This is incredibly sad that with 500 evictions a year in the Cleveland Hts. municipal court, they could not figure out a way to distribute the funds to keep people from leaving the City. Anyone that has faced or will face eviction between November 2009 and July 2012 living in Cleveland Hts, should be angry that the City could not figure out a way to keep this money within their borders. City officials requested these funds so what was the plan for distributing the funds? It is a shame that Cleveland Hts. does not have an infrastructure like Lakewood Service Center to help prevent homelessness. These funds could help with rental assistance. They could pay back rent to avoid eviction, and help with the rent during a temporary setback with income to support housing.

NEOCH tried to reach out to the City and the Mayor last year to offer our help to get these funds to residents of Cleveland Hts. and we were ignored. Not enough people knew that these funds were available, and those who did find out had a hard time with the bureaucracy that was constructed to get the assistance. The City of Lakewood was able to figure out how to use their funds, so why couldn't Cleveland Hts set up a process? We proposed a system that would meet people at the court house door, and inform them that there was help available. It is unfortunate that we could not work with Cleveland Hts officials to keep people from being evicted within the city.

Brian
Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.

Calling Advocates in Cleveland Heights

Photo image by Pleasure Simmons from the Grapevine photo project of 2007

Advocacy Alert: Cleveland Hts. Spend Your Stimulus Money to Prevent Homelessness!!!

Overview of the Problem: In 2009, Cleveland Hts. received $715,000 to help prevent homelessness as part of the federal stimulus program. The city pooled their resources with Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland--$13 million dollars to serve any low income in the county facing eviction. Last year, there were approximately 500 people who faced eviction at the Cleveland Hts. Municipal Court. By January 2011 (16 months after receiving the funding), Cleveland Hts. has only used 12.2% of their available funding or $87,000. The Federal government says that the City must have 60% of their dollars expended by July 2011 or it is redistributed to other communities, and all money must be spent by July 2012. In July and October 2010, NEOCH contacted the Cleveland Hts. agency overseeing these funds requesting the hiring of an attorney to be stationed at the court to help with evictions and to refer those facing eviction to the Cleveland non-profit distributing the funds in order to spend down the Cleveland Hts funding. No one from Cleveland Hts. ever even acknowledged our letter.

Lakewood received over $900,000 from the federal stimulus. They kept their money within the City and partnered with Lakewood Christian Services to spend the funds. In January 2011, Lakewood had allocated 67% of their funds to help prevent evictions.

Why is Cleveland Hts. not spending their money? Why are they not responding to partner agencies in the community that offer to help?

What can you do? Ask your elected official?

Mayor Ed Kelley
216/291-4756
mayorkelley@clvhts.com

Vice President Phyllis Evans
216/321-5378
Hon_phyllis_evans@clvhts.com

Nancy McLaughton
CDBG Program Administrator
216/291-4845
nmclaughlin@clvhts.com

Or attend the Cleveland Hts. City Council meeting on the First and Third Monday of the Month.

They take questions and comments from the public at the beginning of the meetings. Check out the schedule here. The Next meetings for the Committee of the Whole are:
April 11 at 5:45 p.m.
Wednesday April 20 at 5:45 p.m.
April 25 at 5:45 p.m.

If you get any reply, please let us know since no one is talking to us. Thanks to the Sun Press for publishing our letter two weeks ago, and thanks to Channel 5 WEWS taking up the issue.

UPDATE 4/7/2011: Last night, Channel 5 WEWS did a nice report on the Cleveland Hts. issue, and the reporter was able to interview a resident of Cleveland Hts. who could not get enough assistance to stay in the city. The end of the story was interesting in that it seems that the City is content to give the money over to the County to use. As a resident of Cleveland Hts., I object. The City took the money from the federal government, but has done very little to make sure that people facing eviction will be able to stay in place. Why accept the money and then give it to some other community for help when there are residents of Cleveland Hts who are facing homelessness? It does not make any sense.--Brian Davis

Brian
Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.