A Shining City on the Hill Overlooking Millions of Homeless People
This week marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States. It also marks 30 years since the start of the Reagan presidency and the explosion in homelessness in America. Reagan's legacy has grown significantly since he left office to the point of a mythology that has little basis in fact. In the mid 1980s, during the Reagan presidency, the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless along with many other homeless groups were founded. This was in response to the explosion in homelessness and the growing number of families experiencing housing instability.
This was not a partisan issue or a media driven issue. Homeless shelters were built in the 1980s and they were full. Going back all the way to the early 1950s and the development of public housing for returning veterans, the US government led by presidents from both parties developed affordable housing. One of the most dramatic expansions in affordable housing occurred during the Richard Nixon administration. There was a huge tax cut at the beginning of the Reagan presidency with a promise of massive cuts to government that never materialized thus destabilizing the government. Domestic spending on poverty related programs were cut, but not to equal the decline in revenue from the first tax cut. The Reagan administration had to repeatedly increase taxes to try to pay for the expansion in military spending and that tax cut the first year. There were cuts to legal services, jobs programs, massive cuts to funds for cities, and cuts to public transit that helped people get to work in America's cities. The network of family shelters in Cleveland started in the mid 1980s. Before the 1980s, family homelessness was a short interruption to housing and the charities and religious groups would pay for a hotel stay. Most of these shelters in the 1980s were temporary structures in the basement of government buildings, churches or empty retail spaces. No one thought that this problem would be around for 30 years.
The Heritage Foundation and the National Review have written many stories trying to rehabilitate the Reagan legacy including attempts to cast doubt on the explosion in homelessness. Carl Horowitz of Heritage Foundation in 2004 pointed to the acceptance of divorce, and the courts allowing people to become homeless by striking down vagrancy laws in the 1970s and the media driving this story as the big reasons for explosions in homelessness. Horowitz claims that Washington DC activist, Mitch Snyder, built a straw man in Ronald Reagan and the media ate it up. Horowitz blames the courts for providing civil rights to all people thus allowing homeless people to become visible. He just dismisses the fact that there were all these people who no longer had a place to live, and blames the courts for allowing them to be visible. If America could have just hid the population, this would not have become a story and homelessness would not be tied to President Reagan.
Reagan attacked "welfare queens" and claimed homeless people slept on grates by choice. This was the beginning of the hostility toward low income and homeless people, and it was led by the Reagan Administration. The United States has yet to recover from this class warfare on those without money. There developed a common narrative in the United States that poor people were lazy, criminals, or crazy. This was the beginning of the assault on government and the pervasive thinking that government could not do anything well. There was massive distrust in government from Viet Nam War, Watergate, and the many veterans traumatized and living on the streets of America. We gave up on solving problems as a country and lionized the individual. We championed those who picked themselves up by their boot stapes even as we made it more difficult to start businesses or survive without government help. We have consolidated wealth and income inequality has exploded making it nearly impossible to break through to turn good ideas into income.
The reality in Cleveland is that during the eight year presidency of Ronald Reagan, the number of shelters expanded dramatically. People filled those shelters, and they were not always the best places to live. There were large numbers sleeping on the street not because it was cool or fashionable, but because so many people had no where else to live. They slept on steam grates in order to survive and feel safe. If you only had a couple of bucks in your pocket and some warm clothing left, is it better to sleep on the street visible to police driving by or in a remote industrial site with no protection from thieves and gang members? We did not fulfill the promises made to people with mental illnesses over the previous two decades that we would provide community care in lieu of locking fragile individuals away in asylums. We demonized a segment of our population beginning in the 1980s and we are still paying for those decisions today.
Brian
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Saturday, February 05, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Nice Coverage in the Plain Dealer
Stand Down for Winter Clothing 2011We had to move the Stand Down this year, because of the popularity of the event. We outgrew Pilgrim Church and the Convention Center is now closed. So, we moved over to the Masonic Temple on East 36th and Euclid Ave. The Plain Dealer did a fantastic job with a great array of photos on their website from the Stand Down yesterday.
From our volunteers at the Sunday Stand Down, here is what was reported. There were 650 people attending and most people loved the portraits that were taken at the event. That is a great service that people loved. There were long lines to get in the building, but once inside the individuals received a number so they did not have to wait in line for the winter clothing. They were just called to go pick up the clothing items that they needed. This was a much needed improvement.
There were a haircuts and doctors providing health screenings. It seemed that we saw more children show up at the Stand Down this year. The chili served by one of the church groups for lunch was excellent. There was a good mix of interfaith volunteers helping out at the Stand Down. The transportation seemed to work (Thanks Larry). Most people in need were able to get boots for the long winter ahead. Overall another positive event supervised by Toni and Sr. Donna at InterAct Cleveland. Thanks to everyone who made the Stand Down work again this year. Remember, the Health Fair/Stand Down is Friday February 18 at the Masonic Temple again.
Brian
Picture is of Ice from the 2010 Stand Down. We will have pictures of the Feb. 18 event.
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Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Prepare to Close Shelters
Image by Sabrina Otis of dark clouds descending on the Key Tower in ClevelandTough Times Ahead--Closing 1,000 Shelters
On January 25, 2011, the House of Representatives passed a symbolic resolution laying out the goal of reducing federal funding back to 2008 levels before the Obama administration took office and before the massive stimulus spending. What exactly does this mean locally especially for homelessness?
I was fortunate to be in Washington on Monday and met with senior Department of Housing and Urban Development staff. I posed this question to HUD officials, and they said that they had actually run the numbers for various scenarios for the federal budget. While they were clear that they did not expect this to take place, and they felt that there was bipartisan support for implementing new guidelines for funding the shelters in the United States, they did indicate that a return to 2008 funding levels would translate to the closing of 1,000 shelters in the United States. This would translate to one or two facilities in each community closing including in Cleveland.
The problem is that in an effort to get funds out to the community to address the unstable housing market in 2008-2009, there was a massive infusion of funds to the emergency shelter system. This allowed for basically a doubling of the funds that each community would receive in federal dollars to be allocated over 30 months. Many communities expanded or started new projects to prevent homelessness. In Cleveland, we hired new housing case managers in the shelters to screen individuals who became homeless and then help those individuals go out and find housing. We boosted our legal assistance, and provided huge support to provide rental assistance to individuals to keep them in their apartments. All of these programs are in jeopardy in 2012 especially if we roll back funding to 2008 levels. Each community will have to decide to either close existing shelters or end those new prevention programs.
No matter what they decide to do, social service workers will be laid off and there will be reduced rental assistance available to keep people in their housing if Congress roles back federal funding for homelessness back to 2008 levels. The big issue for HUD is that in 2007, there was a renewal of the rules for distributing federal dollars that made many assumptions. The first assumption was that there would be many more activities eligible for funding (prevention, capacity building, community planning, legal, services to young people, etc). In order to balance this new broader focus on preventing homelessness there would have to be an expansion in the number of dollars going to end homelessness. We also have a federal push to end homelessness among veterans with additional housing vouchers and expanded services. It will be difficult if not impossible to implement these new rules and new initiatives if funding levels return to 2008 levels. To all those living and working within the shelters, prepare for tough times ahead.
Brian
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Thursday, January 20, 2011
VISTA MLK Day Project
"A Day On Not a Day Off"--MLK Day
“We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers. Our abundance has brought us neither peace of mind nor serenity of spirit.”---Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, 1963For Martin Luther King Jr. day a few of us Cleveland VISTA’s planned a class that included meditation and creative expression through various art forms at a Cleveland men’s shelter. Kimberly Sandoval, Monica Christoperson, Annie Holden all VISTAs at Lutheran Metropolitan ministries, and Holly Lyon a VISTA at the Northeast Ohio Coalition organized the event.
The class started with a brief tutorial on to practice mindfulness, a form of meditation. We then did a few mindfulness exercises followed by artistic expressions as a form of stress relief. Some residents wrote journal entries, drew pictures or contributed inspirational quotes. Several collaborative posters were made out of the art work and will be hung in the shelter.
The best part of the class was socializing with the residents as we all worked on our individual art projects. Many laughs and stories were exchanged. All of us contributing VISTAs hope to develop a regular artistic expression class at the shelter.
Holly
[Editor's Note: Holly is an AmeriCorps*VISTA member at NEOCH, and took the day to coordinate a volunteer activity at the shelter. This was part of President Obama's call to service on MLK day. VISTAs everyday work on solving poverty in the local community by developing programs, building collaborations, and supporting public policy initiatives in the area of children and families, homelessness, neighborhood safety, literacy, and workforce development. On the Martin Luther King holiday these individuals go outside of their regular jobs to do community service projects. Holly worked an event at the large men's shelter. ]
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Blanket Drive 2011
Thanks For Your Support!!!
We have had an outpouring of support from churches, citizens, and businesses donating blankets to serve homeless people. We have given out 800 blankets so far to people who sleep outside and those living in the emergency shelters in Cleveland. A special thanks to the Diocese of Cleveland St. Vincent Depaul Society for purchasing 300 blankets and delivering them to us yesterday. This is going to be a huge help to the shelters and the outreach teams in Cleveland. Thanks to everyone who have helped out. We will be collecting blankets through March 2011. If you have 35 blankets or more collected, we can come out and pick them up. If you can only donate blankets in the evening, there are two shelters that can accept your donation. Call NEOCH for more details 216/432-0540.
Also, remember that InterAct Cleveland is collecting other items for the 2011 Stand Down. They are collecting winter clothing and hygiene items for the January 30 and February 18 Stand Down.
Brian
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We have had an outpouring of support from churches, citizens, and businesses donating blankets to serve homeless people. We have given out 800 blankets so far to people who sleep outside and those living in the emergency shelters in Cleveland. A special thanks to the Diocese of Cleveland St. Vincent Depaul Society for purchasing 300 blankets and delivering them to us yesterday. This is going to be a huge help to the shelters and the outreach teams in Cleveland. Thanks to everyone who have helped out. We will be collecting blankets through March 2011. If you have 35 blankets or more collected, we can come out and pick them up. If you can only donate blankets in the evening, there are two shelters that can accept your donation. Call NEOCH for more details 216/432-0540.
Also, remember that InterAct Cleveland is collecting other items for the 2011 Stand Down. They are collecting winter clothing and hygiene items for the January 30 and February 18 Stand Down.
Brian
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Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Underwear Saga Complete
The People Have Spoken
Forty six people joined our poll over what exactly we should do with the donation of thong underwear that we received over the holidays. The majority of the people said "It is just underwear--give it away.
Yes, not a problem, it is just underwear | 24 (52%) |
| It is questionable, but since they are donated do it | 8 (17%) |
| Donate them to a non-homeless facility | 7 (15%) |
| It is inappropriate don't do it | 7 (15%) |
We have given away all the underwear. We gave it to women in transition, so those ready to move out onto their own. We also gave it out at a daytime shelter. These were really nice pieces of clothing that were rather expensive, and the women were extremely appreciative. Thanks to those who weighed in on this issue. I think for the old geezers in our office (like me) who saw thong underwear, and could not understand what a corporate executive was thinking when they sent this out. It just seemed strange to me for a corporate exec to say, "I really want to help out our society today, I will send some thong underwear out to homeless people throughout the county." What I have found in my extensive underwear research is that people are loyal to their choice in underwear. People have a strong commitment to briefs, granny pants, boxers, or thongs--no matter if they are homeless or housed.
Brian
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Friday, January 07, 2011
The Dangers of Bad Statistics
County Paints a Distorted Picture of Homelessness
The County Office of Homeless Services has been circulating a three page summary of homelessness in Cuyahoga County. They have some nice photos of cute kids and faces of the broad spectrum of homeless people. The problem is the data contained in the document is extremely distorted and absolutely false. There is no qualifications about the data or even a citation for the source of the data.
The big issue is on the front page when it gives the total amount dollars raised by the office in public funding for homelessness of $31 million. Then right underneath that they list under "Who are the Homeless?" Setting aside the identification of a diverse group of people with the article "the homeless" problem, but then underneath they identify "6,066 persons were served by Cuyahoga County Homeless Service System in 2009." This is a smaller number then were identified as being homeless and served by the county in 1995 when I started at NEOCH (10,000 people). These numbers are based on the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) numbers, but that system is so flawed that it paints a distorted picture of homelessness. HMIS is the computer system that every shelter enters data for every single homeless person entering their facility. I just do not understand why they would release this information without any context, and without an explanation.
STATISTICS BREAKDOWN: Total dollars raised in Cuyahoga County: nearly $31 million in public funds.
Total homeless served in Cuyahoga County: 6,066 were served. FAIL!!
These documents were given to the new County Council and the new County Executive without any explanation or any qualifier. For the average person who has no familiarity with homelessness, they would read this document or glance at it and say, "Wow, we spend a lot of money on a small number of people." By dividing the number of people into the total raised would be $5,110 per person. So, to the average person or the person sleeping in the shelter they are saying if you just closed down all the shelters and services, you could eliminate homelessness by giving everyone a housing voucher for $5,000 per person for the year. This means the 900 children identified as homeless by Cuyahoga County each could be receiving $5,000 from the system. A family of three, Mom and two kids, would be able to get a voucher worth $15,000 a year. Every homeless person measured in Cuyahoga County should be able to find a place to rent for $426 per month for a single bedroom or $852 for a two bedroom apartment by just dividing the $31 million up as housing vouchers. This could thus end homelessness for the 6,000 homeless people measured in Cleveland/Cuyahoga County for the year.
I, as a policy wonk, understand that the $31 million also involves shelter plus care housing vouchers, and the building and upkeep of the shelters. I know that the numbers that they are using are so low that they are useless for the community. I know that there are about five people waiting for every shelter bed in Cleveland, but for many reasons they have decided not to use the shelters. I know that the OHS count for one day is 2,236 people in January 26, 2009 coordinated by the Office of Homeless Services, and we know that the majority of the population is using the shelters for less than 30 days. So, it does not make sense that on one day there is 2,236 people, but over a year there are only 3 times that number. We know that those numbers do not include anyone sleeping in abandoned buildings and it does not include those sleeping on the streets. I understand that the HMIS data collection system is so flawed that it paints a distorted picture of homelessness. I know that there are many people who are served by the various agencies and never get entered in HMIS so they never get counted. I know that the definition of homelessness used by Cuyahoga County leaves aside many people who sleep on couches or stay in motels, but the general public does not know these things. When they see this document they see huge dollars for a few people. It is reckless to present these statistics in this manner.
Our fear is that when the public sees these figures they will think, "Well, that is an area that could see cuts." The newly elected County Council may say, "Are we spending our money efficiently?" or "How have we not ended homelessness with $31 million annually and only 6,000 documented homeless people per year?" Other communities in Ohio and around the country are documenting huge numbers compared to Cleveland. In fact, the District of Columbia on one day in March 2009 measured 5,983 homeless people , and that is a city of around 591,000 total population (Half the population of Cuyahoga County). So, DC reports almost the same number of people for one day as Cuyahoga County reports for the entire year. At the same time, Cleveland is listed as second poorest city in the United States with Washington DC is the 67th poorest city according to the Census. It is impossible to think that with 35% of our total population within the city living below poverty that only 6,000 of those households will fall into homelessness in one year, while Washington DC has only 18.4% of their population living below the poverty level according to the US Census and 6,000 people fall into homelessness in one day.
The damage that this kind of information could do is dramatic. It could lead to budget cuts, service reductions, and increased demand for scarce services. This is harmful to the community of social service providers and to homeless people.
Brian
Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.
The County Office of Homeless Services has been circulating a three page summary of homelessness in Cuyahoga County. They have some nice photos of cute kids and faces of the broad spectrum of homeless people. The problem is the data contained in the document is extremely distorted and absolutely false. There is no qualifications about the data or even a citation for the source of the data.
The big issue is on the front page when it gives the total amount dollars raised by the office in public funding for homelessness of $31 million. Then right underneath that they list under "Who are the Homeless?" Setting aside the identification of a diverse group of people with the article "the homeless" problem, but then underneath they identify "6,066 persons were served by Cuyahoga County Homeless Service System in 2009." This is a smaller number then were identified as being homeless and served by the county in 1995 when I started at NEOCH (10,000 people). These numbers are based on the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) numbers, but that system is so flawed that it paints a distorted picture of homelessness. HMIS is the computer system that every shelter enters data for every single homeless person entering their facility. I just do not understand why they would release this information without any context, and without an explanation.
STATISTICS BREAKDOWN: Total dollars raised in Cuyahoga County: nearly $31 million in public funds.
Total homeless served in Cuyahoga County: 6,066 were served. FAIL!!
These documents were given to the new County Council and the new County Executive without any explanation or any qualifier. For the average person who has no familiarity with homelessness, they would read this document or glance at it and say, "Wow, we spend a lot of money on a small number of people." By dividing the number of people into the total raised would be $5,110 per person. So, to the average person or the person sleeping in the shelter they are saying if you just closed down all the shelters and services, you could eliminate homelessness by giving everyone a housing voucher for $5,000 per person for the year. This means the 900 children identified as homeless by Cuyahoga County each could be receiving $5,000 from the system. A family of three, Mom and two kids, would be able to get a voucher worth $15,000 a year. Every homeless person measured in Cuyahoga County should be able to find a place to rent for $426 per month for a single bedroom or $852 for a two bedroom apartment by just dividing the $31 million up as housing vouchers. This could thus end homelessness for the 6,000 homeless people measured in Cleveland/Cuyahoga County for the year.
I, as a policy wonk, understand that the $31 million also involves shelter plus care housing vouchers, and the building and upkeep of the shelters. I know that the numbers that they are using are so low that they are useless for the community. I know that there are about five people waiting for every shelter bed in Cleveland, but for many reasons they have decided not to use the shelters. I know that the OHS count for one day is 2,236 people in January 26, 2009 coordinated by the Office of Homeless Services, and we know that the majority of the population is using the shelters for less than 30 days. So, it does not make sense that on one day there is 2,236 people, but over a year there are only 3 times that number. We know that those numbers do not include anyone sleeping in abandoned buildings and it does not include those sleeping on the streets. I understand that the HMIS data collection system is so flawed that it paints a distorted picture of homelessness. I know that there are many people who are served by the various agencies and never get entered in HMIS so they never get counted. I know that the definition of homelessness used by Cuyahoga County leaves aside many people who sleep on couches or stay in motels, but the general public does not know these things. When they see this document they see huge dollars for a few people. It is reckless to present these statistics in this manner.
Our fear is that when the public sees these figures they will think, "Well, that is an area that could see cuts." The newly elected County Council may say, "Are we spending our money efficiently?" or "How have we not ended homelessness with $31 million annually and only 6,000 documented homeless people per year?" Other communities in Ohio and around the country are documenting huge numbers compared to Cleveland. In fact, the District of Columbia on one day in March 2009 measured 5,983 homeless people , and that is a city of around 591,000 total population (Half the population of Cuyahoga County). So, DC reports almost the same number of people for one day as Cuyahoga County reports for the entire year. At the same time, Cleveland is listed as second poorest city in the United States with Washington DC is the 67th poorest city according to the Census. It is impossible to think that with 35% of our total population within the city living below poverty that only 6,000 of those households will fall into homelessness in one year, while Washington DC has only 18.4% of their population living below the poverty level according to the US Census and 6,000 people fall into homelessness in one day.
The damage that this kind of information could do is dramatic. It could lead to budget cuts, service reductions, and increased demand for scarce services. This is harmful to the community of social service providers and to homeless people.
Brian
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Wednesday, January 05, 2011
What is the Big Deal?
NEOCH had the First Golden VoiceI just don't understand the big fuss over Ted Williams, the freeway exit panhandler from Columbus with the golden voice. The story is everywhere from sports websites because the Cleveland Cavaliers have offered him a job, all the major newspapers, and viral video sites. It seems he has a wonderful voice, and became homeless after struggling with sobriety. He was then captured on video using his voice to panhandle. A Columbus Dispatch reporter took a video of Mr. Williams that went viral within 24 hours. Yes, the guy has an amazing voice talent, but what is the big deal? There are so many talented people sleeping over at 2100 Lakeside having their skills going to waste. We have seen amazing photographers sleeping at the shelter (half of the photos on our website are by homeless people). That opening montage of pictures are all by a guy sleeping at Lakeside. We had an art show in the late 1990s and received over 100 pieces of art from homeless people with some amazing work submitted.
This is great for Mr. Williams, and everyone working with homeless people is excited to see someone skyrocket out of homelessness, but there are so many amazing people sleeping in the shelters every night. There are artists, craftsmen, great plumbers, great cooks, photographers, carpenters, writers who are wasting their talent just trying to survive. This is the great tragedy of our society that great thinkers, accountants, computer scientists are focused on trying to find a place to live instead of working to make the world a better place. They are not trying to find a more efficient way to feed America or a new way to educate young people, they are trying to figure out how to get a meal for the night. There are young Billie Holidays, Nathaniel Ayers, Picassos, and JD Salingers sleeping in our shelters tonight in Cleveland depriving us of their amazing art.
From a personal perspective, we are offended at NEOCH, because we had the Golden Voice working for the Coalition long before Ted Williams was discovered. William Gilmore, pictured above, has answered phones for NEOCH for the past two years. He has done voice over work in the past. We are one of the few agencies that still has a human answering the phone, and William is our guy in the afternoon. He has been referred to as the Golden Voice of the homeless for years. We missed our opportunity to make him famous on You Tube.
Brian
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Columbus Coalition Conference
Working Out of HomelessnessThe Columbus Coalition for the Homeless is hosting a conference focusing on their effort to employ homeless people and start micro enterprise projects. The conference is Thursday January 20, 2011 in Columbus at the Broad Street Presbyterian Church. The keynote speaker is Dr. Fadhel Kaboub of Denison University who will discuss "the economy and the workforce picture today." There will be a panel discussion on the challenges facing homeless people in competing for jobs. There are workshops on how businesses can work with non-profit organizations to employ homeless people. There is a workshop on social enterprise projects and micro-finance projects. Also, some discussion on where there are funding opportunities for employing homeless people will take place.
The conference is only $50 and an additional $10 for Social Work CEUs. They have a workshop on street newspapers, training programs, the underground economy, urban farming, and faith based support for these projects. All the details are available on the Columbus Coalition website. The Columbus Coalition always does a good job, and we encourage you to attend. Plus it is right across from the statehouse, so you can stop in and lobby your state legislator while visiting the Capital City.
Brian
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Friday, December 31, 2010
Save the Date
Rally for A Sane Budget for OhioThere is a new collaboration of groups concerned about the future of Ohio schools, the Housing Trust Fund, social services, and state support for local government. The group is called OneOhio Now. The national economy is in recession, Ohio's revenues continue to fall below what's required to meet people's rising needs. In response, Ohio has over-relied on reducing services that assist communities and vulnerable families. In its next two-year budget, our state faces a record shortfall of up to $8 billion. Schools, police, hospitals, libraries, and local services are all endangered. It will take a balanced approach that includes revenues to minimize the impact on Ohioans and ensure our state emerges strong when prosperity returns. NEOCH has signed on as a supporter of this organization.
Their first major event is January 14, 2011 at 2 p.m. in Columbus at the Ohio Statehouse. You can RSVP for the event here. NEOCH can help with carpooling if you are interested in going, but do not want to drive. The group has been able to get three opinion pieces published in Cincinnati, Akron and Dayton. We hope that you can attend this first in a series of gatherings to come over the next six months. If you need any more information Andrea Fejes e-mail and telephone number are available on the One Ohio Now website.
While we prepare for massive state cuts, please get some rest and have a Happy New Year!! Homeless Advocates are going to need their energy over the next six months.
Brian
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Thursday, December 30, 2010
Street Newspaper Featured in Plain Dealer
Angelo Anderson Featured
Vendor and founder of the original Cleveland street newspaper, the Homeless Grapevine was featured in the Plain Dealer today regarding the publication of the new paper. There is a video that accompanies the story on the Cleveland.com website and a photograph of Angelo by one of the Plain Dealer's best, Marvin Fong. Thanks to Mike O'Malley for taking an interest in things happening on the streets of Cleveland.
The Cleveland Street Chronicle has been out for the last two weeks and people seem to be enthusiastic about a new paper. WTAM picked up the story today.
Ben Gulyas commented on his efforts to raise dollars to publish a paper. If anyone out there would like to sell the paper or knows someone struggling who is willing to go out in the cold to sell the paper, send them down to our address at 3631 Perkins between 9 and 5 p.m. The vendors pay 35 cents and they can sell the paper for as much as $1.25. The vendor keeps the profits. Since there are so few vendors at this point, they can make a good income if they are willing to put in the time to establish a customer base.
Brian
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Monday, December 27, 2010
Happy Holidays from NEOCH
Happy Holidays from NEOCH!
As we finish the year, we at the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless want to thank you for all your support in 2010. We advocated for the 20,000 who found themselves without housing by marketing the affordable housing website that allows individuals to find a home. We also work to assure that public resources are available to those in need of a hand up. NEOCH works every day to assure that anyone in need of shelter has a quality decent place to spend the night.
For those who avoid shelter, we coordinate the diverse agencies providing outreach services. Our goal is to provide access to well informed professionals, public assistance, blankets, resources, or food in order to build a trusting relationship with those living outside. We work to educate media, young adults and communities of faith about homelessness and the solutions to homelessness with 36 presentations in 2010. We work to teach organizing skills to people experiencing homelessness so that those individuals will have the tools to work on finally solving the problem associated with a lack of affordable housing.
We have worked with local universities and the federal government to host interns and support staff who work to solve problems, such as creating the Family Street Card, maintaining our website, and assisting with all of our research projects. In light of the huge anticipated changes taking place after the last election and the passage of the HEARTH Act that will fundamentally change homeless services in the United States, the NEOCH director has taken a leadership role with the National Coalition for the Homeless Board. He meets regularly with federal officials to assure that the needs of those living in Ohio are heard in Washington DC.
We’re proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish with your support. We could not have done it without you! Pictured here are three of our five staff paid through federal grants. Proving once again that NEOCH has the ability to stretch a dollar and that your federal tax dollars are reinvested in the local community. 2011 will be just as challenging with the changes in state and county government.
We hope that you can make a tax deductible donation to NEOCH over the holiday season so that we can continue our work to bring housing justice to Greater Cleveland. You can support NEOCH by going to our website and clicking on "donate now" or just following this link here. Your support is needed now more than ever.
With Appreciation,
NEOCH Board and Staff
Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a healthy New Year.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
2010 Candlelight Vigil
Rabbi Joshua Caruso attended the 2010 to deliver a prayer for those who passed.
Chuck Germana, new County Council member, attended this year to represent Cuyahoga County. Photos by Kimberly Sandoval.Advocates Remember 50 People Who Passed Away this Year
Thanks to all the members and friends who attended the 24th Annual homeless memorial day on December 21, 2010. We were honored to have new County Council member Chuck Germana attend the vigil. He represented the County as the new form of government takes the lead in addressing homelessness locally. We had Rabbi Caruso of Fairmount Temple who has provided a prayer in his fourth Vigil and Rev. Allen Harris from Franklin Circle Church offered a prayer. This year St. Patrick's opened up their doors and allowed us to do the vigil before the regular Tuesday night meal.
We read the names of 50 homeless people and a number of friends who served homeless over the last few years. The names will be posted on our website on Tuesday. A Plain Dealer photographer attended, but the memorial did not make the cut on Wednesday. Fox 8 attended and did feature the story, but did not post it online, so we cannot link to it. We will post a few more pictures on our website from the memorial.
This is one of 150 memorials taking place around the United States. This is the second year of December 21 designated as Ohio Homeless Memorial day. There were vigils in Dayton, Columbus, Cleveland, Toledo, and Cincinnati at various times on December 21. This is the 24th Vigil held in Cleveland, and by far the largest number of "friends of homeless people" were read at the 2010 event. We had Rita, the shelter director, killed, a former staff at Lakeside passed, and advocates who worked to provide food or a reduction in the number of people experiencing homelessness. Typically, we have one or two people on the friends on the list. This year, there were seven.
Homeless people are often forgotten in our society and have become a fixture downtown who typically blend into the surroundings. The least we can do as a society is take time during the holidays to remember those who experienced homelessness at their death. The Candlelight vigil is the most important event for the Coalition of the whole year. We pause to light a candle with other low income and homeless individuals along with advocates and those working in the shelters to remember the friends who we lost this year.
Brian
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Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Support a Street Vendor
Arthur Price passed away this year, and did not get to see the new Cleveland Street Newspaper. He would have been pleased to see the paper come back.
The new street newspaper of Cleveland, the Cleveland Street Chronicle, is hitting the streets this holiday season thanks to a local group of poets. The East Side Poets worked over two months by hosting charity poetry readings and personal donations to raise the funds needed to publish a new version of the street newspaper. The poets are thanked on the front page of the Cleveland Street Chronicle’s inaugural issue. Many will remember that poet Daniel Thompson was a big supporter of the paper and had much of his poetry published in the paper. He would have hated to see the paper’s demise last year and would have been proud to see the street paper rise from its ashes because of fellow poets.
“We had to give up the old name (Homeless Grapevine) because of how many scofflaws abused the paper after it mothballed last year by using it as a cover to panhandle,” said Editor-in-Chief Brian Davis. “We figured that a clean break and a fresh start would enable this paper to survive.” You may find vendors Downtown and at the West Side Market again selling the paper for $1.25. The vendors will have green badges to show that they are legitimate. Those homeless vendors buy the paper for 35 cents and keep the profits from the sale of the paper for rent or Christmas gifts. The paper is a first step back into the workforce for many, and a number of the stories are written by current or formerly homeless individuals.
Please support these entrepreneurs as they try to raise a few dollars during this frigid holiday season. And don’t miss the chance to catch up on all the latest news, thoughtful commentary, changing statistics, and insightful poetry direct from the streets of Cleveland.
Posted by Luke Drotar
Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.
Monday, December 20, 2010
New Street Newspaper is Out
Cleveland Street Chronicle Hits the StreetThe new street newspaper for Cleveland is on the streets. A group of poets got together and raised enough dollars to publish a paper. It is now on the streets and available for $1.25. There is a lot of poetry, and we thanked the poets who raised dollars right on the front page. There will be vendors showing up at the West Side Market and Downtown selling the paper. They will have green badges to show that they are legitimate. Please support them as they try to raise a few dollars for the holidays.
We had to give up the old name (Homeless Grapevine), because so many people were abusing the paper after it was mothballed last year. We figured that we needed a clean break, and start fresh with the paper. We have to thank Brent also for all his work getting this paper out. Brent is a real friend of the paper and all of us appreciate all his help. He is going to make about 15 people have a great holiday this year because they will have income again.
Brian
Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.
Friday, December 17, 2010
2010 Candlelight Vigil
Memorial to Remember those Who Have Passed Away
The 24th Annual Homeless Memorial Day will take place on December 21, 2010 at St. Patrick’s Meal Site 3610 Bridge Ave. at 5:00 p.m. This candlelight vigil will feature newly elected County Council member Chuck Germana as speaker along with three religious leaders. Media are welcome to attend and photograph the vigil.
Joining with other cities throughout the state and country, the Cleveland vigil will include an inter-faith memorial service from the Jewish and Christian faith traditions. In 2009, Ohio legislators designated December 21 as Ohio Homeless Memorial Day. Every big city in Ohio has a similar vigil to remember those who have passed away. This year marks the beginning of a new form of government in Cuyahoga County, and that is why we have asked County Councilman Chuck Germana to speak. Beginning in the 1990s, Cuyahoga County has taken the lead from the City of Cleveland in funding and providing services to homeless people.
Brian
Take Our Poll
Should NEOCH Distribute Donated Thong Underwear??
Every year in December we collect toys and blankets to distribute. All the toys are donated new mostly from major toy manufacturers in the United States. This year, we received a donation that stopped us in our tracks. We received 80 new individually wrapped thong underwear packages for distribution to the homeless population. No, I did not mean to type long underwear, which we would love to have donated. A major corporation donated new (high priced) thong underwear to homeless groups throughout the country.
What do you think that we should do with the thong underwear? We have posted a poll on the right hand side of this blog to solicit your opinion. You are also welcome to comment on this post. Is it appropriate to donate to women living in a homeless shelter thong underwear? Is it appropriate to distribute this underwear to facilities that are closely associated with churches and the religious community? Some people connect thong underwear with date night, and so is it appropriate giving these items out? Besides high school boys, is there a thong underwear lobby who will be offended by even having the discussion? There are certainly religious conservatives who will not want the thong underwear distributed on their property. What do you think that we should do with this thong underwear for the holidays?
Brian
PS: If you can donate blankets, we are always looking for this help. If you have more than 35 blankets to donate, we will come out and pick them up. We distribute them to people sleeping outside and to the shelters in Cleveland. During the winter months, we can never have enough blankets.
Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.
Every year in December we collect toys and blankets to distribute. All the toys are donated new mostly from major toy manufacturers in the United States. This year, we received a donation that stopped us in our tracks. We received 80 new individually wrapped thong underwear packages for distribution to the homeless population. No, I did not mean to type long underwear, which we would love to have donated. A major corporation donated new (high priced) thong underwear to homeless groups throughout the country.
What do you think that we should do with the thong underwear? We have posted a poll on the right hand side of this blog to solicit your opinion. You are also welcome to comment on this post. Is it appropriate to donate to women living in a homeless shelter thong underwear? Is it appropriate to distribute this underwear to facilities that are closely associated with churches and the religious community? Some people connect thong underwear with date night, and so is it appropriate giving these items out? Besides high school boys, is there a thong underwear lobby who will be offended by even having the discussion? There are certainly religious conservatives who will not want the thong underwear distributed on their property. What do you think that we should do with this thong underwear for the holidays?
Brian
PS: If you can donate blankets, we are always looking for this help. If you have more than 35 blankets to donate, we will come out and pick them up. We distribute them to people sleeping outside and to the shelters in Cleveland. During the winter months, we can never have enough blankets.
Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.
Monday, December 13, 2010
How Are the Homeless Stimulus Funds?
Homeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing
Ruth Gillett of the Office of Homeless Services attended the last Cuyahoga Affordable Housing Alliance meeting last week. Media are not allowed to quote anything from that meeting, but I can pass along the stats from the presentation. Cleveland received $14 million (including money from the State of Ohio) in 2009 to be spent over 30 months. According to the OHS stats, we have spent $3.17 million in Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Assistance as of 12/3/2010 which translates to 2,658 households helped. For some reason they did not have a breakdown by agency as of 12/3/2010. The three largest providers of services (Cleveland Mediation, MHS, and Eden) are all spending above the average amount necessary per month to assure that all the money out by July 2012. But they did get a late start in spending money and did not really start spending until the first quarter of 2010.
All of these stats need to be taken in context. The assistance can be something as small as identification fee or can be one year of rental assistance. It can be moving expenses to relocate to better housing or paying off back rent. The funds support the Housing database in Cleveland, housing search specialists, and housing case workers. There are an average of 12,000 evictions just in Cleveland and 22,000 evictions in Cuyahoga County, and recent estimates are that 45,000 are in need of subsidized housing locally. Housing instability is increasing locally with the foreclosure crisis spreading out to outer ring suburbs, and the lack of development of new affordable housing options to match the units that are taken off line. One example of the serious need locally is the fact that the Parma Housing Authority opened the waiting list for the 400 vouchers that they have available and over 20,000 people applied for these vouchers. On another note, the agency running HPRP in Dayton, the Dayton Urban League, closed up shop two weeks ago which puts a hardship on those facing eviction in Montgomery County.
The County released statistics for the month of October 2010 which showed:
74 people got an intake at the shelter doors, and 20 were "diverted" to some other housing option and 7 were given "fast track housing." The rest (47) went into shelter or disappeared. On the prevention side, 81 intake referrals were done and 99 households were served for an average of $1,182 per individual household. I have no idea how more households were served than intakes done, but those are the stats we got.
The big change over the last three months were that a Ruth Gillett and a couple of the service providers decided that there would be some changes in the program. These changes were not approved by any oversight body in the community or homeless people or the broader homeless social service providers were not given the opportunity to comment on the changes before they were implemented. As of October, only those individuals currently living in subsidized housing can get eviction diversion/prevention funding. That is right, only those who already are assisted by the federal government every month now can get access to eviction help. These individuals would not need as much support since the federal government pays some of their rent. The most expensive and difficult population to serve, families with children, who enter the shelters will not be eligible for rental assistance unless they were living in public housing, had a voucher or were in a HUD funded building.
The NEOCH staff and board frustration with the system is the lack of transparency by the County in making these decisions. We also have concerns that the social service providers are keeping this program quiet to prevent a flood of people trying to access these funds. There is not a standard referral system to get these funds. We keep asking for the best process for referral of potential clients, and no one will give a definitive answer. There is no process even for people in subsidized housing written down anywhere that says go to this location or call this number in order to get help. In Cincinnati, there is one telephone number to call to get an interview. The rental assistance distributed from July 2009 to July 2010 by CEOGC locally also had a telephone system set up to schedule an appointment. For this program there is no set way to access the dollars mostly out of the fear about a riot as the City of Detroit experienced.
Our final frustration is the fact that the intake for diversion and rapid rehousing is done at the two entry shelters. This is the first time in our history that rental assistance was linked to shelter. Our fear is that more people will show up for a shelter bed just to get the rapid rehousing dollars. Since every shelter is already full every day, we do not need anything to attract additional people to the shelters. Maybe the Cuyahoga county reform will provide some transparency to the federal stimulus dollars being implemented by the County. We can only hope.
Brian
Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.
**Blog Update As of 12/20/2010** In an effort to have full disclosure, Dan Joyce of Cleveland Mediation Center called today objecting to this blog entry. He refused to engage in "back and forth" about these issues, but wanted to make sure that we were aware that some of the things in this blog are not correct. Dan said that it was not true that they only give assistance to those in subsidized housing. He also said that some are approved for assistance, but don't receive it until the next month, and that is how the numbers can be more than the number requesting assistance.
Dan has never published exactly what the qualifications are for homeless prevention and where a person goes to get these funds, so it is no wonder there is confusion in the community. Also, in full disclosure, Dan was not at the Ruth Gillett presentation at CAHA, so I do not understand how he has the ability to clarify the information given out. It seems strange that a person not at a meeting would call to clarify my perception of the information given out. That is how things work in the community with some of the non-profits. It can be frustrating especially if you are homeless or in danger of becoming homeless and you depend on agency staff to be open with the information. All of these are federal tax dollars, but it is sometimes like pulling teeth to get real information about how to access help in the community. Dan did not address all the other concerns that I expressed in the blog, and I am not holding my breath that he will in the future.
Ruth Gillett of the Office of Homeless Services attended the last Cuyahoga Affordable Housing Alliance meeting last week. Media are not allowed to quote anything from that meeting, but I can pass along the stats from the presentation. Cleveland received $14 million (including money from the State of Ohio) in 2009 to be spent over 30 months. According to the OHS stats, we have spent $3.17 million in Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Assistance as of 12/3/2010 which translates to 2,658 households helped. For some reason they did not have a breakdown by agency as of 12/3/2010. The three largest providers of services (Cleveland Mediation, MHS, and Eden) are all spending above the average amount necessary per month to assure that all the money out by July 2012. But they did get a late start in spending money and did not really start spending until the first quarter of 2010.
All of these stats need to be taken in context. The assistance can be something as small as identification fee or can be one year of rental assistance. It can be moving expenses to relocate to better housing or paying off back rent. The funds support the Housing database in Cleveland, housing search specialists, and housing case workers. There are an average of 12,000 evictions just in Cleveland and 22,000 evictions in Cuyahoga County, and recent estimates are that 45,000 are in need of subsidized housing locally. Housing instability is increasing locally with the foreclosure crisis spreading out to outer ring suburbs, and the lack of development of new affordable housing options to match the units that are taken off line. One example of the serious need locally is the fact that the Parma Housing Authority opened the waiting list for the 400 vouchers that they have available and over 20,000 people applied for these vouchers. On another note, the agency running HPRP in Dayton, the Dayton Urban League, closed up shop two weeks ago which puts a hardship on those facing eviction in Montgomery County.
The County released statistics for the month of October 2010 which showed:
74 people got an intake at the shelter doors, and 20 were "diverted" to some other housing option and 7 were given "fast track housing." The rest (47) went into shelter or disappeared. On the prevention side, 81 intake referrals were done and 99 households were served for an average of $1,182 per individual household. I have no idea how more households were served than intakes done, but those are the stats we got.
The big change over the last three months were that a Ruth Gillett and a couple of the service providers decided that there would be some changes in the program. These changes were not approved by any oversight body in the community or homeless people or the broader homeless social service providers were not given the opportunity to comment on the changes before they were implemented. As of October, only those individuals currently living in subsidized housing can get eviction diversion/prevention funding. That is right, only those who already are assisted by the federal government every month now can get access to eviction help. These individuals would not need as much support since the federal government pays some of their rent. The most expensive and difficult population to serve, families with children, who enter the shelters will not be eligible for rental assistance unless they were living in public housing, had a voucher or were in a HUD funded building.
The NEOCH staff and board frustration with the system is the lack of transparency by the County in making these decisions. We also have concerns that the social service providers are keeping this program quiet to prevent a flood of people trying to access these funds. There is not a standard referral system to get these funds. We keep asking for the best process for referral of potential clients, and no one will give a definitive answer. There is no process even for people in subsidized housing written down anywhere that says go to this location or call this number in order to get help. In Cincinnati, there is one telephone number to call to get an interview. The rental assistance distributed from July 2009 to July 2010 by CEOGC locally also had a telephone system set up to schedule an appointment. For this program there is no set way to access the dollars mostly out of the fear about a riot as the City of Detroit experienced.
Our final frustration is the fact that the intake for diversion and rapid rehousing is done at the two entry shelters. This is the first time in our history that rental assistance was linked to shelter. Our fear is that more people will show up for a shelter bed just to get the rapid rehousing dollars. Since every shelter is already full every day, we do not need anything to attract additional people to the shelters. Maybe the Cuyahoga county reform will provide some transparency to the federal stimulus dollars being implemented by the County. We can only hope.
Brian
Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.
**Blog Update As of 12/20/2010** In an effort to have full disclosure, Dan Joyce of Cleveland Mediation Center called today objecting to this blog entry. He refused to engage in "back and forth" about these issues, but wanted to make sure that we were aware that some of the things in this blog are not correct. Dan said that it was not true that they only give assistance to those in subsidized housing. He also said that some are approved for assistance, but don't receive it until the next month, and that is how the numbers can be more than the number requesting assistance.
Dan has never published exactly what the qualifications are for homeless prevention and where a person goes to get these funds, so it is no wonder there is confusion in the community. Also, in full disclosure, Dan was not at the Ruth Gillett presentation at CAHA, so I do not understand how he has the ability to clarify the information given out. It seems strange that a person not at a meeting would call to clarify my perception of the information given out. That is how things work in the community with some of the non-profits. It can be frustrating especially if you are homeless or in danger of becoming homeless and you depend on agency staff to be open with the information. All of these are federal tax dollars, but it is sometimes like pulling teeth to get real information about how to access help in the community. Dan did not address all the other concerns that I expressed in the blog, and I am not holding my breath that he will in the future.
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Sleeping Outside in Cleveland 2010
Award winning photo by Pleasure Simmons of Downtown Cleveland from the 2008 NEOCH Photo project.Outdoor Count
Every year since 2000, volunteers have gone outside to count the number of people who sleep downtown. This was in response to the lawsuits in the 1990s challenging the City of Cleveland repeated arrests of homeless people for sleeping outside. We eventually settled with the City and then every November, we go out to make sure that homeless people are not being harassed. This year we saw a decline to only 14 people staying in the downtown. This is really good news for the Downtown Cleveland Alliance and the folks at Block by Block who act as ambassadors to keep people visiting downtown. This is the first serious decline in five years. With the horrible economy and the lack of jobs, I thought for sure that we would see an increase. This is also good news for the City and County that have done all they can over the last few years to keep the shelter doors open. Finally, we have to recognize the most important reason that we have such a small number: the fantastic outreach teams in Cleveland.
We really have an exceptional group from Mental Health Services, Care Alliance, Volunteers of America, Helena from Downtown Cleveland Alliance and the Veterans Administration who are on the streets every day. We have support from 2100 Lakeside, St. Pauls outreach, the Salvation Army, as well as the John Carroll, Case Western Reserve and St. Ignatius Labre Projects to serve the population. All of these men and women who go out in the cold and rain to assist those resistant to shelter deserve a ton of credit. They are working to build a relationship with the men and women living outside to try to move them back to stable housing. They are out on the street protecting people from freezing temperatures and from the health effects of the elements.
The Thanksgiving week is typically the low point for the winter, because many family take their loved ones in for the weekend. So, this is the smallest number who will be outside for the entire winter, but it is a good number. We have a graph on the blog measuring the last 10 years to give some idea of the history of downtown homeless. We had over 60 people sleeping in the immediate downtown in the late 1990s and today we are down to 14. That is pretty impressive.
There are many that complain about panhandling and homelessness, but compared to nearly every other American city, we really don't have a big problem. There are not people sleeping on every corner like in Washington DC. There are not people trying to wash your windshield at every traffic light like San Francisco. There are not massive encampments of homeless people like in Columbus. There are not the hundreds turned away from shelter every night like in Cincinnati. We have a lot to be proud of in Cleveland with regard to keeping the number of people sleeping outside down to a small number.
Brian
Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
We Need Your Help!!!
Stand Down 2011 Coming NEOCH is in need of transportation assistance for the Homeless Stand Down 2011
We are in need of people with vans to help transport guests to and from the Homeless Stand Down in 2011. As well as assisting to transport, we are looking for donated goods to the Homeless Stand Down. Transportation is vital to making the Homeless Stand Down possible. Listed below is the three dates of the event, transportation services needed for all three days.
Location and Dates
Sunday January 30: Masonic Temple, East 36th and Euclid Ave.
Winter Clothing Given Out, 9am – 2pm
Saturday February 12: HSD Care-Van traveling to various shelters in Cleveland.
Friday February 18: Health Fair, 9am-2pm
What is the Homeless Stand Down?
The Stand Down is a winter retreat for individuals experiencing homelessness and/ or poverty. Several social service providers offer free health screening, massages and haircuts to those in need at one location. Guests spend the day indoors, out of the cold enjoying food, a hand up, and entertainment. They are also provided with winter clothing and many more needed items.
For those with a few extra hours, we could use your help to volunteer with the transportation committee of the Homeless Stand Down. Contact Larry Davis, the director of transportation for the Homeless Stand Down at 216-432-0540 x 103 or at larrydavis (at) neoch (dot) org. Help give those in need a hand up, thank you and God bless.
Larry and HollyPosts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.
Monday, December 06, 2010
Homeless Congress this Thursday
County Council Member Connally to Meet with Homeless Individuals on Thursday
PRESS RELEASE: The Homeless Congress will meet on December 9, 2010 at 1 p.m. at the Bishop Cosgrove Center with C. Ellen Connally before she takes her position on the new County Council. The meeting takes place on the second floor of the Cosgrove Center in the gymnasium, and we typically have representatives living at various shelters in the community. We have invited all of the new County Council members to attend and to begin a dialogue with homeless people, and Judge Connally has agreed to discuss our issues.
The Homeless Congress has secured endorsements from 4 candidates including Judge Connally that they would support potential legislation to regulate the shelters. “Many homeless people are concerned about the conditions within the shelters, and we want a local law that will regulate the publicly funded emergency housing facilities,” said Brian Davis of NEOCH. The Congress, the Coalition, and homeless people are asking for local regulations that will be enforced by some office within the County with an ability for homeless people to file a grievance if the shelter is not performing. “We are willing to negotiate on exactly what the legislation looks like, but we want a place that will have the authority to oversee the shelters. We want to avoid another situation in which 100 women slept in a shelter for the summer with only one working shower as happened this summer,” said Davis.
Homeless people hope to have regular interactions with the County Council and County Executive as they restructure County government.Brian
Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Benefit Concert for NEOCH
Woodchopper’s Ball Benefit Concert
9 of the finest acoustic guitarist anywhere performing
Proceeds are donated to the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless
When: Saturday December 11, 2010
Where: Kent Stage in Downtown Kent Ohio
175 East Main Street
Time: 7:00 p.m. Doors open at 6:00
Reserve Seating Available at $23 or $27 at the door
All proceeds benefit NEOCH.
"The Woodchoppers Ball" is an annual benefit concert for The Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, currently held every December at The Kent Stage www.kentstage.org. The Woodchoppers Ball concert in the past have included, Pete Huttlinger, Todd Hallawell, Stephen Bennett, Don Ross, Andy McKee, Doug Smith, Alex Bevan, Antoine DuFour, Patrick Woods, Michael Kelsey, Jim Earp, Kev, John Doan, David Mayfield Neil Jacobs, Jim Volk, David Gillis, Jason Dennie, Robin Kessinger, Acoustica, Bill Dutcher, Jon Mosey, Ryan Anderson, Kerry Kean and Woodchoppers Ball MC, Charley Brown.
Purchase tickets at the following location
Box office: 330-677-5005
www.kentstage.org
For more information on this event please contact: NEOCH at 216/432-0540 or visit Brian Henke’s website at www.myspace.com/brianhenkeguitar
Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Prospects Over the Next Two Years
Elections Have Consequences
There are big changes underway within homeless services and these changes will have huge consequences on the struggle to move away from the "poorest city in the nation" designation. This has nothing to do Republican vs. Democrats. This has more to do with the number of people elected to office who do not like government. There is now a clear majority in state government and within the legislative branch of the federal government in Washington who see government as a huge problem and cannot see government solving problems. Here are a few broad concepts about what homeless people can expect as a result of the elections. We will have a detailed document about what the community can expect with specific project outlooks available to our members, because just as there are consequences for elections there are specific rewards for being a member of the Coalition.
Federal Government:
There is a strong push to return to the 2008 federal funding levels. This will have the most significant impact on the Housing and Urban Development funding, which supports many of the shelters and housing programs in the community. The big issue is what will happen with all the programs developed out of the 2009 stimulus bill that was passed. The original thought was that the prevention programs and rapid rehousing programs would receive additional funding after the 30 months of stimulus funding was exhausted. It was thought that the federal government would add funding to the Emergency Solutions Grant, and would be able to support the existing emergency shelters as well as at least a piece of the programs that prevent families from entering the shelters or the quick movement back to housing. After the election, it is very likely that there will not be enough funds to support both the emergency shelters and the prevention programs, and therefore the local community will have to make big decisions.
State Government:
At the state level there will be huge changes. These would include the privatization of various departments within state government, and even more competition for state dollars. There will be more of a focus on rewarding better outcomes, and probably an overhaul of the state emergency shelter program. It is likely that the state will fund new priorities of the new administration. Ted Strickland had worked as a counselor in a prison before his political career, and there were a number of re-entry programs started over the last few years. It is unlikely that the new Governor will have this same affinity for trying to ease people back into the community. It is unlikely that there will be a state housing trust fund, and this will put additional pressure on the state housing tax credit program. It will be interesting to see what happens with welfare benefits and the job training program, because there is a state matching requirement in order to receive the federal dollars. Both programs will probably mean a greater emphasis on serving those who are most likely to succeed and those people with multiple problems or barriers to stability will be left behind.
The mental health and alcohol drug addiction services will probably be cut again in this budget cycle. It is unlikely that every county will get funding due to forced mergers and cuts. Those who hate government will want to see better outcomes, and might force competition among the big agencies receiving government funding to assist those struggling with addiction or mental illnesses. They might also reward those programs that can show private sector investment to match state funding. Big government opponents often believe that Alcohol services can be done more effectively by religiously based organizations similar to Alcoholics Anonymous. This could lead to the total elimination of publicly funded treatment programs in Ohio. We may hear the same words we heard echoing through the 1990s in the State House with regard to a number of state funded programs, "We provide so few dollars of general assistance to individuals in Ohio that it was not worth it and tax payers might as well cut the program all together." I could see this same logic used on the alcohol and drug addiction programs. This was not the opinion of the single adults who were barely hanging on with $100 in cash that went to parent to allow them to stay in an unused bedroom or to buy hygiene items or clothing in order to find employment. But this bizarre logic is often used down in Columbus to put a positive spin on budget cuts. It is almost like they are saying, "Government has done such a horrible job in addressing the problems facing our society because we have for 20 years starved government for funds that now we might as well eliminate government funding and let the private sector solve the problems."
Cuyahoga County
All these changes at the state and federal level will mean that some tough decisions will have to be made at the local level. We will have to decide on the priorities for scarce resources. In 2010, all the county funded human services programs had to take a 6% cut or more. It is likely that the state funding to cities and counties will be cut or even eliminated, which will blow a huge hole in the County budget. We will have to decide on funding for shelters, transitional shelters or supportive services. We will have to decide if outreach services are more important than eviction prevention. County government will have to figure out how to fund food programs in the suburbs or domestic violence beds within the City. All of the homeless services will have to prove their value to the community in competition with health care, foster care, job training, or child support enforcement programs. How will we be able to operate a 24 hour a day helpline at the same time as we fund a case worker at all the new permanent supportive housing programs. At the local level, there are a few powerful agencies that dominate the current homeless landscape who will probably have to take a haircut in their budgets, and there will be smaller programs without the political influence who will not survive past 2012.
All of these "haircuts" mean cuts to staff, a decrease in financial oversight, a reduction in bus passes available, and fewer housing opportunities available to low income people. We will talk about the impact on homeless people with these changes and the potential struggles faced as a result of the election of anti-government forces to lead critical parts of the government in upcoming posts.
Brian
Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.
There are big changes underway within homeless services and these changes will have huge consequences on the struggle to move away from the "poorest city in the nation" designation. This has nothing to do Republican vs. Democrats. This has more to do with the number of people elected to office who do not like government. There is now a clear majority in state government and within the legislative branch of the federal government in Washington who see government as a huge problem and cannot see government solving problems. Here are a few broad concepts about what homeless people can expect as a result of the elections. We will have a detailed document about what the community can expect with specific project outlooks available to our members, because just as there are consequences for elections there are specific rewards for being a member of the Coalition.
Federal Government:
There is a strong push to return to the 2008 federal funding levels. This will have the most significant impact on the Housing and Urban Development funding, which supports many of the shelters and housing programs in the community. The big issue is what will happen with all the programs developed out of the 2009 stimulus bill that was passed. The original thought was that the prevention programs and rapid rehousing programs would receive additional funding after the 30 months of stimulus funding was exhausted. It was thought that the federal government would add funding to the Emergency Solutions Grant, and would be able to support the existing emergency shelters as well as at least a piece of the programs that prevent families from entering the shelters or the quick movement back to housing. After the election, it is very likely that there will not be enough funds to support both the emergency shelters and the prevention programs, and therefore the local community will have to make big decisions.
State Government:
At the state level there will be huge changes. These would include the privatization of various departments within state government, and even more competition for state dollars. There will be more of a focus on rewarding better outcomes, and probably an overhaul of the state emergency shelter program. It is likely that the state will fund new priorities of the new administration. Ted Strickland had worked as a counselor in a prison before his political career, and there were a number of re-entry programs started over the last few years. It is unlikely that the new Governor will have this same affinity for trying to ease people back into the community. It is unlikely that there will be a state housing trust fund, and this will put additional pressure on the state housing tax credit program. It will be interesting to see what happens with welfare benefits and the job training program, because there is a state matching requirement in order to receive the federal dollars. Both programs will probably mean a greater emphasis on serving those who are most likely to succeed and those people with multiple problems or barriers to stability will be left behind.
The mental health and alcohol drug addiction services will probably be cut again in this budget cycle. It is unlikely that every county will get funding due to forced mergers and cuts. Those who hate government will want to see better outcomes, and might force competition among the big agencies receiving government funding to assist those struggling with addiction or mental illnesses. They might also reward those programs that can show private sector investment to match state funding. Big government opponents often believe that Alcohol services can be done more effectively by religiously based organizations similar to Alcoholics Anonymous. This could lead to the total elimination of publicly funded treatment programs in Ohio. We may hear the same words we heard echoing through the 1990s in the State House with regard to a number of state funded programs, "We provide so few dollars of general assistance to individuals in Ohio that it was not worth it and tax payers might as well cut the program all together." I could see this same logic used on the alcohol and drug addiction programs. This was not the opinion of the single adults who were barely hanging on with $100 in cash that went to parent to allow them to stay in an unused bedroom or to buy hygiene items or clothing in order to find employment. But this bizarre logic is often used down in Columbus to put a positive spin on budget cuts. It is almost like they are saying, "Government has done such a horrible job in addressing the problems facing our society because we have for 20 years starved government for funds that now we might as well eliminate government funding and let the private sector solve the problems."
Cuyahoga County
All these changes at the state and federal level will mean that some tough decisions will have to be made at the local level. We will have to decide on the priorities for scarce resources. In 2010, all the county funded human services programs had to take a 6% cut or more. It is likely that the state funding to cities and counties will be cut or even eliminated, which will blow a huge hole in the County budget. We will have to decide on funding for shelters, transitional shelters or supportive services. We will have to decide if outreach services are more important than eviction prevention. County government will have to figure out how to fund food programs in the suburbs or domestic violence beds within the City. All of the homeless services will have to prove their value to the community in competition with health care, foster care, job training, or child support enforcement programs. How will we be able to operate a 24 hour a day helpline at the same time as we fund a case worker at all the new permanent supportive housing programs. At the local level, there are a few powerful agencies that dominate the current homeless landscape who will probably have to take a haircut in their budgets, and there will be smaller programs without the political influence who will not survive past 2012.
All of these "haircuts" mean cuts to staff, a decrease in financial oversight, a reduction in bus passes available, and fewer housing opportunities available to low income people. We will talk about the impact on homeless people with these changes and the potential struggles faced as a result of the election of anti-government forces to lead critical parts of the government in upcoming posts.
Brian
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Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Collecting Your Shelter Stories
Have You Had Experience with Cleveland Shelters?The Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless and the Homeless Congress are collecting the stories from people who have previously lived in a shelter in Cleveland. We want to hear both the good and the bad experiences. We want to hear from you about your discharges from the shelter or the first day that you showed up at the shelter. We want to hear about staff treatment, and the things that surprised you while staying in a shelter. We would like to know if the shelter met your expectations, and if you felt safe. We want to know that your tax dollars were being used to effectively serve the population.
NEOCH and the homeless people who attend the Homeless Congress have been trying to convince City Hall that there is a need for oversight of the shelters. The Homeless Congress members decided to start collecting stories to present to local elected officials. We have made this easy on our website. Sprinkled throughout the site is the above logo. You can click on the logo and complete the form to easily send information to the Coalition about your experiences with shelter. We will keep your identity private, but we may follow up with you to verify the information. Please send this information onto others that you know who spent time in the shelters. We want to present an accurate picture of the shelters in Cleveland.
Brian Davis
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Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Hunger and Homelessness on the Rise in Ohio
The National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week Highlights Recent Increase in Demand for Services
PRESS RELEASE: The National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week (Nov. 14-21) highlights the challenges faced by millions of Americans who lack access to basic necessities. The campaign, coordinated by The National Coalition for the Homeless, occurs each year the week before Thanksgiving, and also showcases effective programs in Ohio, such as Cuyahoga County’s Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless (NEOCH).
“Northeast Ohio never recovered from the 2001 downturn, and we are struggling every day find space in church basements to provide a warm space to everyone looking for shelter,” said Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless Executive Director Brian Davis.
Focusing attention on hunger and homelessness issues is especially important in Ohio as legislators begin conversations on how to balance a gaping hole in the state budget that’s estimated at $8 billion. The USDA’s recent report on household food security indicated that more than one in seven Ohioans faced a daily risk of hunger. Ohio ranks 9th highest of all states on the measure of food insecurity.
Homelessness is considered a lagging indicator of a troubled economy, meaning that people exhaust all other options before accessing shelters for help, says Bill Faith, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO). “Across the state, the numbers tell the story of increasing hardship among those who’ve lost their jobs, are in foreclosure, or have unexpected medical bills,” says Faith.
In Franklin County, the Community Shelter Board will spend 3000 percent more this year than last on overflow costs for family shelters. In the Miami Valley, the two primary family and single adult shelters saw a 35 percent and 27 percent respective increase in occupancy in the first two months of November 2010, compared to the same period last year. And in Cuyahoga County in September alone, 275 men who had no previous experience with homelessness, entered the county’s largest shelter.
The Hunger and Homelessness Awareness week coincides with the launch of the 20th anniversary of the Ohio Housing Trust Fund, a flexible funding source that responds to growing homeless numbers as well as to the critical housing needs of Ohio’s military veterans, senior citizens, people with disabilities and working families.
“The priority of the OHTF has always been to direct dedicated funds to those most in need,” noted Faith. “This is a unique funding source that becomes even more important when social service safety net programs are cut to the bone.”
The OHTF began in 1990 when voters approved a constitutional amendment making housing a public purpose. Following years of advocacy from COHHIO and member groups, the Ohio legislature approved in 2004-2005 an increase in the recordation fees to create a permanent dedicated funding stream for the Ohio Housing Trust Fund.
Since then the OHTF has distributed more than $369 million to a diverse universe of projects, including adult and youth shelters, affordable housing development projects, home repair, rehab and energy savings projects, Habitat for Humanity of Ohio, funds to enable home ownership, support services to help those in need stay in their homes, and service coordination for seniors, among other projects. “These funds have been the safety net needed for more than a million people in every county in our state, with half or more going to projects in rural counties,” said Faith.
COHHIO/NEOCH Press Release issued November 16
Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.
PRESS RELEASE: The National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week (Nov. 14-21) highlights the challenges faced by millions of Americans who lack access to basic necessities. The campaign, coordinated by The National Coalition for the Homeless, occurs each year the week before Thanksgiving, and also showcases effective programs in Ohio, such as Cuyahoga County’s Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless (NEOCH).
“Northeast Ohio never recovered from the 2001 downturn, and we are struggling every day find space in church basements to provide a warm space to everyone looking for shelter,” said Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless Executive Director Brian Davis.
Focusing attention on hunger and homelessness issues is especially important in Ohio as legislators begin conversations on how to balance a gaping hole in the state budget that’s estimated at $8 billion. The USDA’s recent report on household food security indicated that more than one in seven Ohioans faced a daily risk of hunger. Ohio ranks 9th highest of all states on the measure of food insecurity.
Homelessness is considered a lagging indicator of a troubled economy, meaning that people exhaust all other options before accessing shelters for help, says Bill Faith, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO). “Across the state, the numbers tell the story of increasing hardship among those who’ve lost their jobs, are in foreclosure, or have unexpected medical bills,” says Faith.
In Franklin County, the Community Shelter Board will spend 3000 percent more this year than last on overflow costs for family shelters. In the Miami Valley, the two primary family and single adult shelters saw a 35 percent and 27 percent respective increase in occupancy in the first two months of November 2010, compared to the same period last year. And in Cuyahoga County in September alone, 275 men who had no previous experience with homelessness, entered the county’s largest shelter.
The Hunger and Homelessness Awareness week coincides with the launch of the 20th anniversary of the Ohio Housing Trust Fund, a flexible funding source that responds to growing homeless numbers as well as to the critical housing needs of Ohio’s military veterans, senior citizens, people with disabilities and working families.
“The priority of the OHTF has always been to direct dedicated funds to those most in need,” noted Faith. “This is a unique funding source that becomes even more important when social service safety net programs are cut to the bone.”
The OHTF began in 1990 when voters approved a constitutional amendment making housing a public purpose. Following years of advocacy from COHHIO and member groups, the Ohio legislature approved in 2004-2005 an increase in the recordation fees to create a permanent dedicated funding stream for the Ohio Housing Trust Fund.
Since then the OHTF has distributed more than $369 million to a diverse universe of projects, including adult and youth shelters, affordable housing development projects, home repair, rehab and energy savings projects, Habitat for Humanity of Ohio, funds to enable home ownership, support services to help those in need stay in their homes, and service coordination for seniors, among other projects. “These funds have been the safety net needed for more than a million people in every county in our state, with half or more going to projects in rural counties,” said Faith.
COHHIO/NEOCH Press Release issued November 16
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Thursday, November 11, 2010
Hand Up Gala a Success
182 Guests Served At the 2010 Hand Up GalaThe Gala took place on Tuesday November 9 at the Cosgrove Center. We have posted two pages of pictures on our website for the public to see the event. There is still an opportunity to donate by clicking on the "donate now" button on this blog or on the website in order to participate in the auction. The drawing to distribute the auction will be Monday November 15, 2010. There are also a few pictures on the front page of the Hand Up Gala page.
There was a fantastic committee that organized the event. We have to thank Nicole, Luke, Larry, Don, Cathey, Dominica, Dorothy, and Michelle for their service over the last three months. We have to thank the Brush High School Sound Station Show Choir and Brush Chorale. A big thanks to Chef John Alderwereld and Chef Mark Lyons from the Sans Souci Restaurant in Cleveland for preparing this awesome meal. Vicky Knight and Anytime performed and thanks to the NEOCH Board and Catholic Charities' Board for volunteering to serve the meal and seat the guests. This was a substitute for our regular annual event fundraiser and silent auction. Instead of asking for money this year we prepared a four star meal for homeless people and asked our donors to support the two organizations and this event. We only spent 19% of the money raised to advertise and host the meal (administration). There were nearly one hundred businesses that donated food and auction items to make this event a success.
Remember, there is still time to donate for this event and check out the pictures.
Brian
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Saturday, November 06, 2010
Congrats to New County Council
Four Winning Candidates Support Regulating the Shelters
Congratulations to all the winning candidates for Cuyahoga County Council, and especially the four candidates who said that they would support some form of Shelter Standards. These men and women have an amazing job ahead of them. They have to restore confidence in government while creating a new form of government. The shelter standards are critical for this community to finally have protections against capricious evictions from shelters. This is also important for the community so we never ever place homeless people into a shelter with only one shower for 100 people. Here are the four that claimed that they would support some local standards.
District 2 Council Member
Dale Miller
District 4 Council Member
Chuck Germana
District 7 Council Member
Yvonne Conwell
District 9 Council Member
C. Ellen Connally
The Homeless Congress and NEOCH will continue to press all the new County Council to pass these regulations.
Brian Davis
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Wednesday, November 03, 2010
Hand Up Gala Next Week
Annual Event in which Homeless Get to Enjoy the Fine Meal
PRESS RELEASE: Nearly every non-profit in the community has a special event in which their members dress up, go to a fine dining restaurant, listen to speeches, and participate in a silent auction. The Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless has hosted a benefit similar to this for the last six years. We also invite a number of beneficiaries of our program to attend, and we usually have a speaker from our Street Voices project talk to the members and thank them for helping the organization serve the public. This year we decided to turn things on their head. We partnered with Catholic Charities to send out the invitations to our members and supporters, but we are preparing the meal for the homeless and hungry of Northeast Ohio instead of our patrons.
The Bishop Cosgrove Center (a program of Catholic Charities) and NEOCH have partnered on the first ever Hand Up Gala on November 9, 2010 to provide an amazing meal to homeless people prepared by Chef John Aldewereld of San Souci Restaurant at the Renaissance Hotel. This special meal will benefit both charities as they prepare for another difficult Cleveland winter. "We are asking the public to support the Coalition and the Bishop Cosgrove Center so that we can do our valuable work throughout the year. Your help will allow homeless people to enjoy this fantastic meal that would normally be served as part of our annual event," said NEOCH executive director Brian Davis. "Put away your evening gowns and you will not need that strategy guide on when is the best time to bid on a silent auction item. This year, we need your support to provide a memorable meal to people hurt by the loss of a job or the foreclosure of their home," Davis said.
Tickets are $40, and can be purchased at the NEOCH website at www.neoch.org/handupgala.htm. Everyone who buys a ticket will be entered into a drawing to win some fantastic gifts provided by area business partners. Some of the auction items include theatre tickets, hotel stays, restaurant gift certificates, tickets for a Lolly the Trolly Tour, Cleveland Browns signed football, and the Midwest League Champion Lake Erie Captains, along with many other items. All proceeds support the costs associated with running the two organizations.
Executive Sous Chef John Aldewereld has a four star meal planned, and we will create a wonderful ambiance for this once-in-a-lifetime meal featuring table cloths, china, and floral centerpieces. There will be a jazz ensemble, and we hope to have local celebrities serve and act as hosts for the event. We will serve 225 low income, homeless, and hungry individuals.
This event is supported by sponsors including Keybank, Avalon Foods, Berghaus Flowers, and Morgan Linen.
For those who are not aware, the Cosgrove is a wonderful institution in Cuyahoga County. Here is more information about their services:
Catholic Charities supports a comprehensive continuum of care to fragile populations throughout Northeast Ohio, including at the Bishop Cosgrove Center. They offer a breakfast and lunch to hundreds of hungry people everyday and offer supportive services to those who have struggled to find a hand up out of poverty. The Bishop Cosgrove Center also serves the neighborhood with a pantry program, and they have a 20 year history of providing comprehensive care to those struggling with poverty.
Written by NEOCH Staff
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