Cincinnati Coalition Files Suit

They Do Some Crazy Stuff in Cincy

We have been trying to convince the City of Cleveland to pass a law that would regulate the shelters. I guess sometimes you have to watch what you wish for, because you may get it. The City of Cincinnati passed an updated shelter standards bill and placed a bunch of Easter eggs in the legislation. They included in the bill a requirement that every shelter receiving public money must discourage panhandling among their clients. So, the shelters are expected to dissuade their residents from engaging in a perfectly legal activity. They must report to the City every year how they "discouraged panhandling." All of the other issues in the world that the shelters should be counseling their clients against like drugs, prostitution, and even state sponsored gambling, and the City picks out the legal practice of panhandling for special scrutiny.

The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is suing the city over this ridiculous policy. The City has also taken the oversight of the shelters away from the Coalition and given it to the group that distributes the federal funds locally. The City claims that it is premature to file suit since it is not sure that the policy will become law.

"City Solicitor John Curp said the lawsuit is premature because council's approval of the rules does not mean they will be implemented by city administrators. He said his office must review council's recommendations to determine whether they are constitutional." according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Brian
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Women Still Do Not Have Access to Showers

Cleveland can afford a stadium that is only used 10 times a year, and yet we can't afford a building to provide showers to 50 to 70 women?

NEOCH Board Members Invite City Chief of Public Affairs and the County Director of Homeless Services to Sleep in the Shelter They Fund

Press Release Issued by NEOCH 6/26/2010

The Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless Board of Trustees are inviting Cleveland’s Chief of Public Affairs Natoya Walker-Minor and the Cuyahoga County’s Director of Homeless Services Ruth Gillett to spend at least two nights at the Community Women’s Shelter. The invitation is in response to the city and county officials moving homeless women to a temporary site with only one shower while their regular facility is undergoing renovations for six months. Board members are worried about the spread of infectious diseases due to lack of shower and hygiene problems in the hot summer months. “We have concerns about accessibility issues for those women with a disability sleeping in the shower this summer,” said Rosie Palfy who is leading the advocacy of the NEOCH Board on this issue. The invitation is an attempt to show the deplorable living conditions at the temporary site of the Community Women’s shelter with a hope of prompting a change. The site violates the Ohio Basic Emergency Shelter Standards as well as multiple building code regulations.

On May 3rd, residents of the Community Women’s Shelter moved to their current temporary facility on 1701 Payne Ave. and Walker was quoted in the Plain Dealer indicating “City and County officials spent years planning the renovation and looking for temporary sites.” In an e-mail to the Coalition after a tour of the temporary women’s shelter, Walker said, “While it is inconvenient for the women to walk less than 300 feet to a shower, it is doable.” The chosen site was without showers, forcing women to walk around the block to the nearby Cosgrove Center limited to only two hours a day or the inaccessible North Point Men’s Transitional Shelter to shower on the next block. The board is concerned that the limited shower schedule could interfere with women looking for housing and jobs.

The NEOCH Board is concerned that the message delivered to the women is that our county has enough money to build a medical mart, renovate the baseball stadium, and buy an asbestos building on East 9th and Euclid, but we do not have the money to house women in a safe, decent place while they struggle with their housing. According to CWS and City and County officials, installing showers at the new location was not cost effective, and there are no other buildings that they could find to house the women.

Residents have complained and filed grievances to NEOCH citing lack of proper facilities and expressing concern over feminine hygiene issues. More than 70 women are currently living at CWS and advocates are not satisfied with the current conditions. The NEOCH board is calling on city and county officials to live in the shelter for two nights to see if the current situation is “inconvenient” or intolerable. NEOCH is asking for city leaders to develop a better solution for our most fragile population under the care of the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. We asked for a response by Tuesday June 29, 2010. Many of these women are disabled and have mobility challenges, and they need regular access to a shower.

Contacts: Rosie Palfy and Marcia Bufford on behalf of NEOCH
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ACLU Brown Bag Lunch

Join NEOCH at the ACLU Lunch in Two Weeks

2010 American Civil Liberties Union Brown Bag Lecture Series
You bring your lunch. We’ll bring the experts.

Homeless, Not Hopeless:
The homeless community’s fight for fair treatment
July 7, 2010 on Wednesday | Noon - 1:00 p.m.
Max Wohl Civil Liberties Center
4506 Chester Ave., Cleveland 44103

Far too often municipalities enact unconstitutional ordinances that criminalize homeless people and greatly restrict their access to public space.

Join us for a discussion of the homeless community’s fight for equality with Brian Davis, executive director of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless and advocate for the estimated 26,000 homeless in the Cleveland area.

This program is part of the Brown Bag Lecture Series. Lectures will be held throughout the summer on Wednesdays from noon – 1 pm at the Max Wohl Civil Liberties Center, 4506 Chester Ave., Cleveland.

This event is free and open to the public. Free parking is available. Drinks and desserts will be provided. To RSVP, call (216) 472-2200 or click the RSVP button.

Save the date for our statewide membership conference!
July 30 - 31, Columbus.
Get more information at www.acluohio.org/conference2010

Join the ACLU and help strengthen our freedoms. Already a member? Click here to find out what else you can do to restore our rights.

Stand up! Get active! Make some noise! Our new website has all the tools you need to restore lost liberty.

From an e-announcement from the ACLU

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New Meal Program in East Cleveland

Divine Outreach to Serve Once Per Month

After the article appeared in the Plain Dealer regarding the lack of food providers within the city limits of East Cleveland, a number of church groups stepped forward to offer volunteers and food to help out. Divine Outreach Ministry would like everyone to know that they will be serving a meal on the fourth Friday of the Month at Windermere Living Hope Church. The meal will be from 4 to 6 pm. at 14035 Euclid Ave. in the beautiful Windermere Living Hope Church. This will add a fourth night of food being served out of this historic church. The first meal for Divine Outreach Ministry in East Cleveland is Friday June 25.

Divine Outreach currently does the meal behind the Mental Health Services Building at East 18th and Payne Ave. in Downtown Cleveland on the Second Saturday of the month. They have a long history of working with homeless people as the lead organization providing food at the Homeless Stand Down. If you have questions or want to help volunteer or provide additional donations, you can call Dorothy at 216/355-6953.

Brian
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A Home Has Showers

County Relocates Women to Shelter Without Adequate Showers for Summer

The Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless calls on all taxpayers of Cuyahoga County to refrain from showering this summer unless you go next door to your neighbor's at a scheduled time. NEOCH is asking for this drastic action to show support for the women forced to live in a shelter without the proper number of showers. When the publicly-funded Community Women’s Shelter was closed for renovations last month, City and County officials relocated the 52 women to a facility that did not have a working shower. Because of budgetary concerns and Not-In-My-Backyard issues, the City and County allowed the shelter to relocate for the next six to nine months to 1701 Payne Avenue, a facility that only this week installed “one shower for emergency uses only.”

Between the hours of 9 and 11 a.m. weekdays, the 50 homeless women can go outside and walk next door to the Bishop Cosgrove Center to take a shower. At other times the women are forced to walk to a nearby men's transitional shelter, escorted by staff, to use one available shower on the second floor of a men’s residential floor. Those with mobility issues must figure out how to take care of their hygiene needs using a sink, because the transitional shelter 1550 Superior Avenue facility is not handicapped accessible.

The Board of NEOCH has received numerous complaints from women living in the shelter regarding this matter. Many women said that they have had to resort to washing themselves in the sinks because they could not make it to Cosgrove during those two hours. Residents are concerned this unsanitary practice will put them at risk for contracting infectious diseases. “The City and County selected this location knowing it didn’t have showers,” said Rosie Palfy, a NEOCH board member. “The women were told on numerous occasions showers would be installed before they moved, but it never happened because they said it was too expensive.”

"Women in the care of Cuyahoga County who are incarcerated at the jails have access to daily showers on-site. The Men’s shelters have access to showers. Even the animals in the custody of Cuyahoga County at the Cleveland Metropolitan Zoo have better access to showers. Why are homeless women being denied the ability at the facility in which they live?" asked Marcia Bufford, NEOCH board president. "We find this move an unconscionable disservice to the women at the shelter who have no regular access to showers on site."

The members of the Board of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless (NEOCH) oppose the move of the Community Women’s Shelter, even on a temporary basis, to a facility without the appropriate number of showers on-site. The facility is administered by Mental Services for Homeless People, a $15.5 million non-profit organization largely funded by government support. We ask:

• the City and County to enforce the Ohio Basic Shelter Standards
• install showers in the facility or move the women somewhere that does have showers on-site immediately.
• the Cleveland Health Department enforce basic health and safety standards for a residential facility.

In support of homeless women and any children who become homeless this summer, the NEOCH Board asks that Cuyahoga County tax payers stop using their own showers and instead schedule a two-hour window in which they can go to their neighbor’s house and use their shower.

Contacts for this issue:
Marcia Bufford and Rosie Palfy
NEOCH Board members
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Drew Carey Entertains City Council

Next Week Carrot Top Unveils a Device that Will Revolutionize Cleveland...

I like Drew Carey, I really do, but to give him a couple of hours before City Council is an insult. It makes us look like we live in a Cow Town. I have a long history with stand up comedy, and Drew Carey was one of the best. I mean, his routine about Cleveland's unofficial motto being "At least it's not Snowing" is hilarious. He also has did a great routine about driving a Yugo among many others. He is no doubt a great comedian, but he is a lousy community leader. In a time in which 29 miners died in West Virginia, 11 oil workers died in the Gulf, and banks destroyed neighborhoods in Cleveland and around the country, how does a person who believes in less government have any credibility?

I watched all the Nick Gillespie/Reason Magazine videos, which contained only a dash of Drew Carey, and felt cheated. Advertising these as Drew Carey videos is like calling Ken Burn's Civil War series the Studs Terkel videos. He was a minor part of the presentation, and these videos had very little value in forwarding civic discussion. I just don't understand how anyone watched them and said, "We need to get this guy to testify before City Council."

They kept bringing up the state of Cleveland sports, and somehow making the connection with the decline of Cleveland. The Browns were perennial contenders in the 1980s, the Indians in the late 1990s, and now the Cavs are regular participants in the playoffs. If this was a valid point all of our teams would be cellar dwellers since the river caught fire. Complaining about high taxes, privatizing schools, and restrictive land use policies are not a solution for anything. They are conservative talking points that have not worked in practice. Our own state has flirted with charter schools and that has resulted in high failure rates among these schools, and for profits making money off of providing education to the next generation. We have had nearly two decades of cutting taxes, and where has that gotten us--two unpaid wars, trillions in debt, and many angry people who are not willing to pay their fair share for living in a democracy. The first combination strip club/pawn shop/payday lender that goes into Gates Mills, Bratenahl, or Avon Lake would be the end of less restrictive land use policies.

I really wanted to hear some good ideas for how to turn around population decline, job losses, and a collapse in the housing market, but was disappointed. There were two good points made during the videos: We wasted millions on playgrounds for the rich with the two stadiums and the arena, and that we need to figure out a way to reduce red tape within government. That being said it is a giant leap to say end the MedMart deal, sell the West Side Market and allow a Walmart to go up where ever they want. We are all-in on the MedMart deal. No matter what we think, we have invested far too much public money to stop this train now. A year after we sell the West Side Market, it will close. It will go the way of every other farmer's market and a Walmart will open in its place. I loved how Gillespie mentioned transparency when talking about how a corporation could run the West Side Market better. I have never thought of WalMart, BP, Exxon, Halliburton, Blackwater, or AIG as especially transparent in their business dealings. This was the most laughable part of the videos. Government can at least be forced to be transparent, but corporations guard their privacy above all else.

I think Michael Symon could offer more help to Cleveland as a local business man than Drew Carey. Libertarian views are great for the classroom discussion at CWRU, but they are impractical and silly in practice. The private sector cannot solve homelessness, poverty, massive job losses, and population declines that currently face the City of Cleveland.

Brian
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A Home or a Jail?

Metal Detectors at the Shelters?

Since the death of the shelter director in February, many of the shelters in Cleveland have moved to increase security. There were many issues associated with the death at the Volunteers of America shelter including discharge plans, the care of those with a mental illness, de-escalation training, conflict resolution, intake process that reveals previous violent encounters with the law, and many more issues. Instead of looking at all of these problems, most of the concern is with security including metal detectors and bag searches.

This is an issue that needs broader discussion within the community. Are the shelters emergency homes for people or are they corrections facilities? Should our main concern be the safety of the staff or making the facility as accommodating as possible so that people are not sleeping on the streets? Have we wasted our money when their is a stabbing at a shelter with metal detectors? There are so many issues, and we need some real discussion about this in the community. We should not have a knee jerk response when we invest in these new technologies when a weapon can be formed out of can of beans in a sock or box cutter or any number of a thousand other items. How would you feel if your landlord put up a metal detector and a bag search at the front door of the apartment building in which everyone entering, including all the tenants, had to have all their items searched every day?

These decisions will have a negative impact on how many people choose to use the shelter system. It could result in more people sleeping on Superior Ave. in Cleveland. It may lull people into a false sense of security, and people who should expect that every person they encounter is armed will let down their guard. It could change the power dynamic within the shelters in which searches are used as another form of punishment. There are many dangers associated with stepped up privacy searches. Before the shelters jump into this movement toward metal detectors, the community of social service providers and homeless people should have a conversation. Alternatives should be discussed, and the consequences of these decisions should be laid on the table. Increasing security does not have to mean comprehensive searches and wand searches. There are cameras, random searches, conflict management, and counseling options that could make the shelters safer, and may in fact be cheaper. It is unfortunate that there is not leadership locally to look at all these issues before we jump into the transition of the shelters into corrections facilities.

Brian
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Housing Cleveland update

The affordable housing website for Cuyahoga County, housingcleveland.org was funded by stimulus dollars for another three years. It is a real gem for the community, and we wish the state would invest funds to expand this site statewide. It is administered by Socialserve.com in North Carolina, and organized locally by 211/First Call for Help and NEOCH. To be honest, the current state of Ohio funded housing website is a huge waste of money. Taxpayers should be up in arms over the horrible waste of money. HousingCleveland is regularly updated (every three weeks) and has a bilingual call center. The Ohio funded housing site is a static website that is rarely updated, and has only a fraction number of units that we have on the Cuyahoga County site.

Here are some stats from the Housing Cleveland site from May 15, 2010:

• There are 1,360 available listings or 2,026 total units on the Housing Cleveland site with a total of 26,982 total units in the database.
• 54% of the units are within the City of Cleveland and the rest are spread throughout the county.
  
• There have been 2,281 units added to the site since January 2010. This is down from the 3,500 units added in the same period in 2009. We suspect that many people were marketing their houses as apartments because of the foreclosure crisis in 2008-9, but not doing that as much in 2010.
• There are 1,706 basic searches done everyday from 217 unique users.
  
• There were 693,000 searches done by 88,600 unique users done in the last year.

There is also an expanded site in Medina County (HousingMedina.org). They have 44 searches done every day, and 61 available listings or 166 available units. Housing Medina could benefit from some marketing help, but that is another story.

It is time to make Socialserve the sole provider in Ohio for a housing website. It is a wonderful non-profit that is surprisingly affordable.

Brian
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Community Development Policy Forum

Housing Policy and Community Development

Monday, June 7, 2010
4:00-6:00 p.m.

Cleveland State University

Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs

Glickman-Miller Hall

1717 Euclid Ave

Cleveland, OH 44115

Book Talk and Panel Discussion
in partnership with The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland with David J. Erickson, author of The Housing Policy Revolution: Networks and Neighborhoods and director of the Center for Community Development Investments at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. He also edits the Federal Reserve journal Community Development Investment Review.

Erickson's new book traces the shift in U.S. housing policy from the 1960's-era, federally funded programs to today's collaborative networks of community developers, advocates, local governments, bankers, and property developers, supported by federal tax credits and block grants. Through historical analysis and detailed case studies, he reveals a system that adjusted to a changing political climate and innovated in the delivery of affordable housing.

The response panel of local housing and community development professionals will discuss the impact of this policy shift on the availability and affordability of housing for low-income families and individuals in Northeast Ohio.

Response Panel:
Moderator: Kathryn W. Hexter, Director, Center for Community Planning and Development and Levin College Forum
Kate Monter Durban, Assistant Director, Cleveland Housing Network
John O. Anoliefo, Executive Director, Famicos Foundation
W. Dennis Keating, Professor and Distinguished Scholar, Director, Master of Urban Planning, Design & Development Program

Free and open to the public.
Registration requested at Forum or call 216.523.7330

Brian
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Homeless Hate Crimes Bill Re-Introduced in Ohio

After Cincinnati Attacks, Ohio House Introduces Stronger Penalties

With the multiple attacks these last few months in Cincinnati, the State of Ohio has responded by introducing a bill that would allow prosecutors to increase the penalty for an attack or intimidation of people based on their lack of housing should the attacker be convicted. This is similar to the hate crimes laws in Ohio, and we hope will provide some deterrent to future attacks on those resistant to shelter. This is an extremely vulnerable population that lives without a door or a lock or the security that the rest of the population enjoy. And to have skinheads and young people go out hunting for homeless people justifies the state coming down with tough punishments on these individuals.

As Introduced

128th General Assembly Regular Session 2009-2010

H. B. No. 509

Representatives Murray, Foley

Cosponsors: Representatives Sears, Pillich, Hagan, Walter, Harris, Heard, Williams, B., Domenick, Skindell, Winburn, Fende, Gerberry, Harwood

---

A BILL

To enact section 2927.121 of the Revised Code to create the offense of intimidation of a homeless person.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That section 2927.121 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 2927.121. (A) As used in this section, "homeless person" means either of the following:

(1) An individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence;

(2) An individual who has a primary nighttime residence that meets any of the following criteria:

(a) A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations;

(b) An institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized;

(c) A public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.

(B) No person shall violate section 2903.04, 2903.041, 2903.05, 2903.11, 2903.12, 2903.13, 2903.14, 2903.21, 2903.211, 2903.22, 2903.31, 2905.01, 2905.02, 2905.03, 2905.11, 2905.12, 2907.01, 2907.03, 2907.05, 2907.06, 2909.01, 2909.02, 2909.03, 2909.05, 2909.06, 2909.07, 2911.02, 2913.01, 2913.02, or 2917.01 of the Revised Code if the offender commits the violation with the intent to cause harm to any victim of the violation because that victim is a homeless person.

(C) Whoever violates this section is guilty of intimidation of a homeless person. Intimidation of a homeless person is an offense of the next higher degree than the offense the commission of which is a necessary element of intimidation of a homeless person.

We need to get other members to support this legislation and hold a hearing in Columbus on this bill. We will keep you informed.

Brian
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Arthur Price Sr Passes

Hard Working Vendor Joins Wife

We have had to put the Grapevine on hold while we fund raise, and get our own house in order. Arthur Price Sr. was a vendor of the Grapevine for years outside of the West Side Market. He saw many in his family die of cancer including his own mother. He wanted to stay busy so he started selling the paper in his 70s. I guess that he saw a number of relatives retire, and then pass on quickly. Arthur was determined to stay active, and sold the Grapevine through his latest illness in 2009. He passed away last week and his memorial service was Saturday.

Arthur was a stern and gruff old guy similar to many men born in the 1920s. He was hard on many people, but he was a good salesman. He loved working for the Grapevine, and he told me every few weeks that the Grapevine saved his life. He said that it forced him to get up and go outside. He had a purpose and that was to sell papers. He loved meeting people at the Market and loved interacting with the other vendors, the customers, and the WSM workers. Behind his rough exterior, the one soft spot was for his wife. Just as Bernadette Janes described in the 2006 article in the Homeless Grapevine newspaper, Arthur loved his wife, Clarabelle. She passed away in January, and this made it difficult for Arthur. He had moved to hospice care, and could not move around for the last four months.

The family asked the Chaplin from the Hospice Care Center to conduct the service. This was unusual since she had only four months of interaction with Arthur to pull together the ceremony. It worked really well in that she was not deeply emotionally attached to Mr. Price, and had sat with him and talked about what he wanted in the service. So she presented the facts that Arthur wanted to pass on to all of us. She talked about the Grapevine, his family and the love for his wife. She thanked the people that Arthur wanted thanked, and she mentioned that there were a few fragile people within the family that Arthur wanted to make sure were taken care of. The Chaplin was clear that Arthur had joined his wife, and was at peace at this point. It was a very nice service that Cathy, one of our other vendors, attended on behalf of the Homeless Grapevine.

Brian
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Support A Reduction in Family Homelessness

Dear Friend of the Coalition:

Honor your Parents for the Holidays

The fastest growing subpopulation of homeless people in America is families, which typically means a Mother and one to two children. Imagine your own mother having to spend time in a homeless shelter. Imagine trying to figure out how to maintain a job, your child’s schooling, and search for housing while staying in the shelter. It is a miracle if a Mom and a Dad can stay together during a period of homelessness in Cleveland, and please realize that it is extremely difficult to find a shelter bed for a Dad with his children.

The Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless is working every day to preserve affordable housing opportunities, expand job opportunities and eliminate civil rights barriers that confront homeless people. We make every effort to work with the City and County and the social service community to reduce the time a family spends homeless in Cleveland. In our recently published State of Homelessness Report we found that:

• The school district reported a 17% increase in children experiencing homelessness in the last year.
• First Call for Help reported a 82% increase in requests for food pantry assistance since 2006.
• The Domestic Violence Center reports a 8% increase in families served between 2008 and 2009.

Today, we introduce an effort to honor the mothers and fathers in our community while improving the services to those families that become homeless. We are asking for your support in an effort to create a Family Street Card directed at parents facing either foreclosure or are danger of becoming homeless. In exchange for a $35 donation, we will post a message on our website honoring a mother or father that you feel deserve to be recognized. We need $2,500 to prepare this Family Street Card, print the card and begin to distribute this one page easy to use resource for families struggling in our community. Currently, we print an East Cleveland Street Card, a general Street Card, and a Veteran’s Street Card. With the explosion in family homelessness over the last four years, and the decline in the number of shelter beds for families over the same period, now more than ever we need a resource to distribute to those families struggling with their housing.

For every donation that we receive, we will memorialize on our website the parent or loved one who worked to raise a child and deserves some public recognition. We will also send a thank you note either to that individual or directly to you for your support of social justice and of families who are struggling with housing. Your tax-deductible donation will allow us to create a new resource for families and at the same time honor the parent in your community who influenced you or demonstrated exemplary behavior in teaching the next generation.

To support this project, you can return the enclosed form or go to our website and donate online. Either click on the “Reduce Family Homelessness” button on the front page of our website or go directly to www.neoch.org/honoring_parents.htm in order to donate. Mark your donation with the phrase “Family Homelessness” in the purpose line. We can send a card to you to recognize your donation or we can send the card directly to your parent or the individual that you want honored, and we will also post a message on our website honoring a parent in our community.

Please help us create a new resource for families and support the Homeless Coalition. As you prepare for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, take a minute to acknowledge someone who has had a tremendous impact on your life.

To donate go to www.neoch.org and click on Family Homelessness!

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Homelessness Around the United States

Local Reports April 2010

National Coalition for the Homeless Met in DC this last Week

Minnesota

Significant growth in homelessness within the State. They are working on a Tenant Bill of Rights in Minnesota— it would cap late fees, require receipts provided by landlord, and guidelines for screening tenants. Applications for an apartment would have to be provided an apartment in the order they were received. Denied for a subjective reason, the tenant would get any fee back. The state is facing massive cuts in emergency assistance.

Miami Florida

Sex offenders going into hotels after the encampment under a freeway overpass was fenced off. Miami held as a model city in the Continuum of Care, but there are issues with budget cuts and expanding populations. Florida house passed the homeless hate crimes legislation. Looks good for passage in the Florida Senate.

Ft. Lauderdale

HPRP not doing well, and much is going to moderate incomes. State has cut homeless funding. Broward cut 50% of their services due to the downturn. Several large shelters have closed. Transitional shelters have had to close. Cut beds, services and hours to deal with budget cuts. Proposal to continue to criminalize homelessness in Ft. Lauderdale and Oakland Park will fine people who give food and money to homeless people. Increasing number of homeless and decreasing number of beds. No programs for the long term homeless. Alternatives to incarceration coalition established to try to reduce prison stays and long term punishments and mandatory minimums. Florida has a huge problem with one of the worst rates of incarceration in the United States.

Indiana

Continued budget cuts and HPRP has supplanted local dollars, and so there are more shelters and services closing locally. The state is defunding shelters, and more attempts to make it illegal to be homeless. Poor use of the HPRP funds for smaller groups especially in the rural communities.

Puerto Rico:

They do a poor job in receiving funding from the United States federal government. Worst managed HOME program in the United States, which has opened the door to greater scrutiny. Feeling threatened over HEARTH act, and attempts by local planning groups that could block grant of all those federal dollars. Have not been able to open an affordable housing project because of local bureaucracies, and while the buildings are done they have not been able to move in and now have become targets for vandalism. New protocol on how homeless people are served in the courts. There is a law that gives the rights to people who find themselves homeless, but it is ignored in the local community. Census told the population that they had to have an address to work for the Census.

Atlanta, GA

Shelter facing foreclosure is in court, and proving that you can operate without funding. Residents of the shelter do a lot more to operate the facility. 99.9% of staff are still hanging around without funds. Local grassroots organizations excluded from Neighborhood Stabilization and HPRP. There is some danger of losing the Foreclosure money (Neighborhood stabilization), which would go back to the Federal government. Massive demolition of public housing, 50% cut to public transportation, and privatization of the last public hospital..

DC

Catholic Church not going to close the shelter over the DC gay marriage issue. Big cuts that resulted in decrease in the number of shelter beds. They have closed the winter shelters for the spring/summer/fall. Family homelessness is increasing. Incidents at the shelters have increased including a death where an individual was turned away and died of exposure on a bench outside of the shelter. They have seen an increase in the incidents between shelters and staff because of the budget cuts.

Little Rock, Arkansas

Coalition is still on life support. Talked to the Mayor of Little Rock, because of city being named one of the meanest cities. Paid homeless coordinator in Little Rock to help. Another Little Rock About 1% of the population is homeless in the state of Arkansas. shelter closed because of a lack of funds.

South Carolina

State does not have any state dollars for homelessness—all dollars are pass through from the federal government. State initiative to require homeless veteran’s a preference over all other populations for a shelter bed and first for services. This did not pass. Defeated an initiative to be able to evict tenants within 15 days without going to court. Magistrate could appear without the tenant and get rid of the tenant. Four police officers arrested for Civil Rights violations in Greenville They have pled out after an investigation by the FBI. State HPRP is not being spent. At the local level it is being allocated at a good pace. Homeless awareness is increasing because of the NCH VISTA program educating the community. One City Administrator in Greenville has indicated a willingness to talk about ending homelessness. This is unusual for a public official in South Carolina. over the beating of a homeless person.

Montana

No more Montana Council for the Homeless by the Governor, and they may switch to become a private non-profit. Statewide HPRP going to the usual suspects. It is given out, but difficult to find in some communities. Information has spread and made a run on many of the programs.

Baltimore, MD

Mayoral transition difficult after the Mayor was forced to resign. She was very good for homeless people despite the scandal. The United Way initiative to end homelessness and continue the 10 year plan is still on track. All HPRP went through the United Way to administer the funds. Money is going out in large numbers.

South Dakota

Major issues in trying to distribute HPRP and lots of complaints with state for changing guidelines periodically. No state money going into local homeless services. Safe home program --32 long term homeless units is the cornerstone of the City’s project and they have now walked away from the program. No local dollars in Souix Falls from City. The City has established a zero tolerance for kids in the shelter to try to get them back into housing quickly. Indian reservations are the hardest hit.

Sacramento, California.

Massive deficit and massive proposed cuts. Hate crimes legislation introduced. Massive cuts to human services at the local level, and huge Continuum of Care cuts. Advocates want a safe ground to organize themselves with temporary structures while they search for housing. They won the lawsuit—got $250,000 to buy back tents and stuff after the police came in and destroyed their camps. Advocates have also registered hundreds of people and did a candidate forum focused on housing and homelessness. Training in May over HEARTH planning for the future. State HPRP is not going out very quickly. Better at the local level and trying to link the employment programs. Religious community organizations are trying to match HPRP funds in Sacramento. Director of Hunger and Homeless Program now including re-entry stuff into their work.

Denver

Sustained a huge budget cut for Health Care for the Homeless fund in order to fill gaps in the state budget. Cut the general assistance funds to single adults. After protests state government had to reverse the GA cuts and they never went into effect. Also advocates convinced them to reinstate the $2 million of the $3 million cuts to Health care for the Homeless. HPRP is given to the state Coalition and there is a match from TANF families. Some agencies are getting the funds out, but others are struggling. No ability to do training. Started construction on a 98 units of affordable housing that will include a work component in which they get homeless people to do the labor on the project then get first preference. Took over the HMIS system, and assure that privacy protections are in place. Colorado Springs has the homeless computer system is contracted to the local sheriff to manage. The State Coalition has told them to stop this or they will no longer have access to the management system or the funds that goes with it. Down the road the health care reform bill that just passed Congress will help our constituents including the leveraging of Medicare resources.

Taken from notes at the National Coalition for the Homeless Board meeting this past weekend April 2010 by Brian Davis

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Tough Year for the Shelters and Homeless Individuals

The Northeast Ohio Coalition for Homeless sent the following letter to Mayor Jackson asking for help with regard to the trauma that the homeless population has gone through over the last year. Our concern is that a great deal has happened, and we have not gathered as a community to address some of these big issues.

Dear Mayor Jackson:

Over the last year, a number of high-profile incidents have deeply traumatized the homeless population of Cleveland. Although there was a great deal of attention in the media on these issues, we have had neither a proper recognition of the seriousness of these incidents, nor a discussion of how to prevent these issues in the future. We were witness to the murder of a shelter director after which there was no investigation, no community-wide discussion, and no after-incident report issued to avoid future violence within the shelters. Questions such as, “How could the discharge procedure or grievance procedure or safety plan be improved to assure that this never happens again?” have yet to be addressed.

Some of the more horrific incidents over the last year include:

1. Nearly a dozen women were killed on Imperial Ave. A few had spent some time in the shelters, while most were homeless and never sought help for their addiction or their lack of housing from the social service providers. Why did these women with addiction issues avoid staying in the shelters in exchange for abuse by a sexually-based offender?
2. The young child who was scalded in an East Side motel had only recently left the shelters. Was she discharged properly and was there anyone within the system representing the best interest of the child? Again, there was no discussion locally about this tragedy; what could we do to avoid this in the future?
3. There were a number of other issues that we have seen including a suicide within the shelter, the loss of limbs because of MRSA or a serious staph infection, improper discharges into the night, and shelter staff defying their own grievance procedures. What can we learn from these incidents to keep residents of the shelter safe in the future?

Although these terrifying issues significantly impacted the shelters and the local residents using them, no government entity has convened any discussion to provide a roadmap for a safer future. It must be said here that most of the shelters are wonderful places and are healthy places for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. There are a few that are not up to the standards of the others. For example, the veteran’s facility on East 152nd St. is a great shelter that is respectful to the veterans population, but has no standard for intake or discharges. Cuyahoga County looked into the death of the toddler in the hotel, and the City looked into the Imperial Ave. murders, but no one has convened a discussion about these incidents and their impact on the shelter system in Cuyahoga County/City of Cleveland. As a homeless advocate, in our opinion, these incidents point to a systemic lack of oversight of the shelters.

We believe that it is time for the City of Cleveland to pass legislation to regulate the shelters. In the City Council elections, 13 elected council members said that they would support a shelter standards bill if it were proposed. We just need one office within the City to oversee these regulations. NEOCH is requesting that the city take the lead in discussing these issues and look at examining these regulations for the shelters. To compare, the residents of the City of Cleveland have a place to go if they need to complain about predatory mortgage brokers, landlords or nursing homes, but on the other hand a resident of the shelter has no where to go to complain. We spend over $30 million dollars per year on shelters and permanent supportive housing programs directed toward homeless people, but we do not have regulations to move these shelters up to a safe level in which we can all be proud. We believe that the shelter standards regulations are the appropriate response to these tragedies within the homeless community.

The shelter standards would address the follow issues:

1. In response to the Imperial Ave. murders, the need for a “wet” shelter in the community to serve those who are actively using and need help with their addictions.
2. In response to the MRSA or staph infections, an infectious disease protocol for shelters.
3. In response to the death of the shelter director, the shelters should have a plan for keeping residents and staff safe that is approved by an outside agency.
4. In response to the East side motel scalding, the shelters should have specific rules for housing children in an effort to keep them safe.
5. To address all of these issues, the City should employ someone to resolve grievances and there should be a client advocate system constructed within the shelters.

All these points and more would be addressed by the passage of the shelter standards bill. Please help us move this legislation forward.

Sincerely,
Brian Davis
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Time to Support the National Housing Trust

Sign on to National Letter Asking Congress to

Fund the National Housing Trust Fund NOW!

Within the span of a week, organizations from every state, DC and Puerto Rico have signed on to the letter - Thank you for your action!

Now, the goal is to get as many signatories as possible, including organizations from all 435 Congressional Districts, in order to urge every Member of Congress to support funding for the National Housing Trust Fund.

Please JOIN the national sign-on letter today. Please make sure every organization in your network or coalition signs on.

Let your Members of Congress know that your organization supports the NHTF and that their support of the NHTF will help your state build and preserve housing for people with the lowest incomes, and create needed jobs.

Please SIGN the letter in this link

Brian

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Rough Year Annual Report

NEOCH Annual Report now Available on our website

What can only be described as the downsizing year, the NEOCH annual report is posted on our website. In the spirit of a downsized year our annual report is only 8 pages long this year. It gives a snapshot of 2009 including finances and programming. We present our two award winners for 2009:

Mike Piepsny of the Cleveland Tenants Organization as the 2009 Advocate of the Year
Michelle Russell as the David Westcott Volunteer of the Year.

The report also details our donors for 2009. Feel free to check it out and tell us what you think.

Brian
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Explaining Housing Programs

Housing 101 by Cleveland Tenants Organization/BTG

For social service, counseling and housing professionals working with the Homeless Prevention Rapid Rehousing Program in Cuyahoga County.

Housing 101: The HPRP Program, a guide for practitioners. Sponsored by the Homeless Service Agency Network, Bridging the Gap, and Cleveland Tenants Organization.

Friday, April 30^th 2010 from 9 am to 12:30 pm. (registration begins 8:30 am).

at Stella Maris auditorium. 1320 Washington Ave Cleveland, OH 44113.

Over the past year Housing 101 has held a series of well received and attended seminars and classes on a wide range of housing issues. This fourth class will concentrate on the new Homeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program, which is one of the largest housing programs aimed at the homeless populations that we have seen in years. We will hear from local experts who are working day to day with the program on the goals of the program, how it operates and how agencies can help their clients benefit from it.

Class Fee: $15

Continuing Education Credits: 3 hours for counselors and social workers.

To register contact: Randy Cunningham at

Bridging the Gap/Cleveland Tenants Organization.

3631 Perkins Ave, Suite 3-A 4

Cleveland, Ohio 44114

216-431-0616 or e-mail btg (at) clevelandtenants dot org

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Portraits of Homeless Residents will be in City Hall next week

Staff at 2100 Lakeside will display the portraits show at the City Hall Rotunda next week. The presentation of the show will be Monday April 19 from 5-7 p.m. with a short overview and talk by staff and residents of the shelter.

I went to the show when it was hung at CSU Levin College, and I urge everyone to go see it. The interesting part of this show that separates from other shows is there is a narrative that Lydia Bailey prepared with each of the images. You get the opportunity to read the story behind the image, and get to know the subjects. Catch the opening and stick around for the City Council meeting at 7 p.m. What a great night--poverty, art, and democracy for free.

Brian
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Legal Assistance Schedule Posted

Where to go for a Street Lawyer?

NEOCH has struggled over the last three years having had to layoff nearly all of our employees and relying more on volunteers and national service members, but one thing that we are proudest is that the community of homeless people have not suffered because of our financial issues. We were able to transfer all of our programs to other social service providers and maintain those services in the community. Our housing program and voice mail system are under the direction of other agencies and are still providing services in the community. We are working on finding funding for the Homeless Grapevine newspaper.

One program staff that we were forced to eliminate in 2009 was the director of Cleveland Homeless Legal Assistance, but with the help of the Metropolitan Bar Association and volunteers from a bunch of local law firms and the Cuyahoga County Law Library we have kept the program in operation. We still have volunteer attorneys going to the shelters and drop in centers and offering legal help. We will also have an intern this summer working on strengthening the program.

The schedule for the Legal Program is on our website now here. If you are homeless and need to discuss non-criminal matters with an attorney, you can go to the Wednesday clinic at the May Dugan Center. If you are staying in the 8 shelters that have a monthly clinic, you can talk to the attorney about a security deposit that you may not have gotten back or a check from an employer that was held. In addition, the Bar still maintains a monthly divorce clinic to teach people how to file for divorce on their own. The lawyer can answer questions about visitation of a child in custody of the County or a child support order. They can help with an expungements or landlord tenant issues for those who are currently homeless or in imminent danger of becoming homeless. This is a wonderful service that serves over 300 people per year.

Brian
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Census Count in Cleveland

Counting Homeless People as Part of the Census

It is an overwhelming task to try to enumerate the population, and it is especially daunting to count the transient populations. NEOCH did a ton of work over the last month to get as many homeless people as possible counted. We met with Census officials on a regular basis, and distributed Census gear to every homeless person who we met. The Census was at all three Stand Downs, and we gave out thousands of fliers.

Overall, I think that they got everyone at the shelters, but the other counts are unlikely to yield any good numbers. The Census officials counted shelters on Monday then soup kitchens on Tuesday and then the outdoor sites on Wednesday. The Census made the last minute decision to categorize transitional shelters as group quarters instead of shelters and so were planning not to count any of those facilities this week. We appealed this to the regional office to ask that they reconsider this decision, since transitional shelters are shelters and were counted in the 2000 Census. By skipping the transitional shelters, we would have a significant under count. They changed their minds about noon on Monday, but officials were not able to get to the transitional shelters until Tuesday or even some on Wednesday. NEOCH called every single shelter three times to make sure that a Census worker had visited their site. We found that four facilities were skipped, and we informed the census employees.

There seemed to be a lack of staff assigned to the homeless count and certainly a lack of clerical staff preparing for the count. It seems that were a lot of people advertising the importance of the Census, but not as many doing the actual count. We did not hear back from anyone else who said that they were missed, so we believe that every shelter was counted. We do not have much information on the second day of the count, when they were doing hot meals and mobile canteens, except that five or six of the homeless drop in/meal programs have Census staff on site for 15 to 20 hours a week to answer questions and encourage people to complete the application.

The last day was very bad and highly questionable as to accuracy. We gave the Census staff a list of all the outdoor sites that we were aware of locally. But it is nearly impossible to find these individuals in one 24 hour period. Basically, the outdoor count was a waste of time. Census staff really wanted to do the count at night, which every one of the professional staff said was a bad idea. We suggested early morning (6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 5 to 8:30 p.m.), but they could not be convinced and went later into the night on Tuesday night. No matter if they have an army of counters, it is just impossible to count homeless people who live outside in 24 hours. So, they drove by a bunch of sites that we had given them, and tried as hard as they could in the dark to count, but this was not a good use of resources or time.

In 2000, only the shelter numbers were released and I am pretty sure that we did a good job in Cleveland with that count. It was a great deal of work trying to get the Census count correct, and most cities don't have an advocacy homeless Coalition to coordinate these activities.

Brian

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