clevelandhomeless

Another Death Within the Homeless CommunityOur good friend from the 2100 Lakeside, Mike Tribble died on Monday while battling cancer. He was fiercely independent, and tried as hard as he could to start a shelter for homeless people on the West Side. It did not work, but he...

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Volunteers (above) flood the near west side hot meal program at St. Augustine for a Christmas dinner in 2007.Plain Dealer Covers Food Desert in East ClevelandYesterday, the Plain Dealer's Mike O'Malley did a nice look at the food issues in East Cleveland. We have been working on this issue...

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Only One Week Left to Comment on Federal PlanPicture by Cheryl Jones of the Grapevine Photo project 2007.There is only one week left to make suggestions for the InterAgency Council on Homelessness Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. The Plan was mandated by Congress by May 2010, and very...

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Friday's Health and Service Fair at the Convention CenterLarry, directing transportation outside, William sitting with a red shirted volunteer on Friday, and Luke checking a guest into breakfast attended all three Stand Down's this year. The final one wrapped up on Friday at the Cleveland Convention Center. We...

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Still Looking For Solutions?In January 2009, we wrote about the Melville Charitable Trust, and then in February the program director responded. It is a year later and I still hear the same advertisement from the Melville Charitable Foundation on NPR on a regular basis. They still have...

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Aftermath of the Shelter Director DeathWe now have some distance from the death of Rita Ciofani and it is time to focus less on the grief and start talking about causes. We also need to talk as a community about how to avoid this ever happening again. ...

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Promoting Social Justice in Cleveland Greater Cleveland Community Shares needs your help! We want to ensure that individuals accomplishing extraordinary social justice feats are applauded for their work. Check out our website at www.communityshares.org and nominate individuals and organizations making a difference.Awards will be presented at...

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Ruth BerzinsNEOCH was fortunate to have Ruth Berzins as an intern as she was completing her master's degree over the last few years. She focused her career on advocating on behalf of individuals. She did all that she could for her clients. She gave her energy, time...

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Moment of SilenceThe Volunteers of America staff have sent us this notice of a system wide moment of silence to remember Rita Ciofani. Here is the information from Volunteers of America:"Tomorrow, Wednesday, February 17, marks one week since the tragic and untimely death of Rita Ciofani, program ...

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Shelter Tragedy in the MediaThe last few days have been tough in Cleveland for homeless people and especially homeless service providers. The media has been surprisingly understanding over the last few days. I was impressed by the article done by Joan Mazzolini in the Plain Dealer on Friday....

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Other Homeless Service Providers SaddenedThis message came to NEOCH yesterday:Dear friends and members in Cleveland:I was saddened to learn of the murder of the VOA shelter director today, and of the death of her apparent killer at the hands of the police.Please know that our thoughts are...

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Veteran's Center Director Dies At Shelter TodayThere are no words to express our sadness regarding the incident this morning at the Veteran's Resource Center on East 152nd in Cleveland. The Cleveland media will cover the story, and there will be time to talk about the larger issues in the...

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Madness Captured, Hate Crimes Legislation NeededThe Cincinnati Coalition is keeping us up to date on the situation with regard to the attack on Robert Meehan. On the first posting, we had a strange comment submitted from a self proclaimed witness to the event. It has to be said...

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Massive One Stop Center for Jobs.... Dayton features the largest one-stop employment center in the United States called the Job Center. It is a huge--renovated old warehouse that was updated to be roomy, well lit, and easily accessible social service headquarters. It is basically, the Virgil Brown Building in...

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Did We Learn Nothing During the Depression?Last week, the President announced that he was freezing discretionary funding except for defense, education and a bunch of other programs. First, I do not understand why the defense department is exempt, but second why do we need a freeze at this time?...

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Man Beaten Within An Inch of His LifeA man was “beaten within an inch of his life” says Cincinnati Police Lieutenant Mike John after a January 24 incident outside of a local bar/restaurant. Sunday morning at approximately 3:48am Robert Meehan was severely beaten just outside of Bootsy’s Restaurant at...

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Local Reports from the National Coalition Meeting I attended the National Coalition for the Homeless meeting a couple of weeks ago. Here are a few things that I heard around the country. Indiana: – There were large cuts from the Indiana State Budget—They are...

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Photo from Smithsonian.com magazineCivil Rights Icon Starting a Fast for HaitiI was just sitting in the lobby of a Washington DC hotel enjoying an adult beverage and the football games when I look over and at the next table is Civil Rights icon Dick Gregory. I was in DC...

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From Chester Commons (which is now under renovation). Unknown artistNational Homeless Report on Winter SheltersThe National Coalition for the Homeless in Washington DC released a report on the state of winter shelters in the United States. Cincinnati and Columbus are the two cities featured in the report...

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Mahoning Valley Application was Rejected by HUD?I got notice of a petition drive in Youngstown to protest the rejection of the Mahoning Valley Application for Neighborhood Stabilization 2 funding that was announced last week. The Youngstown paper has been aggressively reporting this story here and here. Evidently, Youngstown...

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Photo by Cheryl Jones of the Grapevine photo projectIn Haiti, is this Really Looting?I really need some clarity on the definition of looting from the media. I do not understand how this fits in Haiti in which for the last week government has for all purposes collapsed. If...

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Woman Freezes Near FlatsWKYC TV is reporting a woman froze to death on Vega and Train Ave. in the new flats. We have not had a hypothermia death of a homeless person for a couple of years. I am afraid that this was a homeless woman who was...

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MLK Day ReflectionToday is the day we mark the day we remember Martin Luther King Jr., and I was thinking about the issues that King would be pursuing if he were alive or if one person had picked up his legacy. We are gathering our stats for the State...

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It is Difficult to ImagineI have read the Washington Post and New York Times every day regarding Haiti. It is hard to imagine an entire city that is now homeless. I have listened to the impressive coverage from the BBC and NPR; both doing amazing work in the...

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Photo From the Change.org blog under End Homelessness: ChangemakerDonovan Featured on Best Homeless Blog in CountryHe only was hired four and a half months ago, and he has already become a Changemaker. Neil Donovan, new Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless has been named by the folks...

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