2002 Accomplishments

Organizing/Advocacy

2002 can best be characterized as for every step forward, we took two steps backward in our efforts to reduce the number of people without housing in Cuyahoga County.  For example, NEOCH staff worked with the Cleveland Public Library to develop a fair policy that would allow homeless people to bring bags and backpacks with them into the library, but we had battles in two neighborhoods in which residents organized to prevent homeless social services from developing projects in their residential areas.  NEOCH staff assisted in the creation of a Cuyahoga County Public Policy Committee, but could not reform the restrictions at the Public Housing Authority that prevent a number of homeless and disabled people from obtaining a housing unit.  We were successful in getting the public and elected officials to see the problems at 2100 Lakeside shelter for men, but we were not able to convince the County to make their funding decisions based on the impact programs make in the community or their effectiveness at operating the program.

Additionally, NEOCH staff worked on the release of some statistics from the United States Census, but could not convince local shelters to adopt a discharge policy. We began a discussion to identify the gaps in health care services to homeless people, but we could not prevent the move of the Salvation Army PASS program into the hostile, criminal justice environment of Harbor Light. We assisted with policy development and research for the National Coalition for the Homeless, but could not prevent the media from publishing negative stories that made it look as though the local shelters were harboring criminals.  NEOCH was able to obtain a City and County resolution in support of a dedicated revenue source for the Housing Trust Fund at the state level; however, the number of people seeking shelter increased by 15% in Cleveland and overall, we continued to slip behind in our efforts to end homelessness in Northeast Ohio.

Public Education/Research

AmeriCorps*VISTA: NEOCH have had an amazing group of AmeriCorps*VISTA members this past year.  We hosted eight VISTAs throughout 2002 who worked on a variety of projects.  Our Lead VISTA, Teri’ Donelson, coordinated with the VISTAs throughout the state, recruited for our programs and did a wonderful job of assisting the VISTAs with their project goals.  We have VISTAs working on the development of a civil rights program, organizing a group to improve health care for homeless people, organizing fundraisers for NEOCH, developing a program for homeless youth, and developing and implementing a wide variety of public education projects.  It is very rare to have such a dedicated group of national service members, and we truly appreciate all the hard work you have done for NEOCH this past year!

Creating Nurturing Environments

Bridging the Gap: With the changing policies at CMHA, Bridging the Gap has had a difficult year.  Our applicants, who are not eligible for senior only building have to suffer the extensive waiting list.  However, we have still been able to assist 87 people with their application this year.  Christal Jones became the new program director in  September 2002 and is assisted by a team of AmeriCorps National Service members.  In her short time here, Christal has reached out to new partner agencies, begun hosting intake sessions at shelter and drop-in locations and revamped our database.

Cleveland Homeless Legal Assistance Program: The Cleveland Homeless Legal Assistance Program took a hiatus throughout most of 2002 due to funding difficulties.  We met several times with the Cleveland Bar Association to find a way to restructure the program with a smaller budget.  We collectively decided to hire another attorney but on a part-time basis, and the program would rely more heavily on pro bono attorneys and law students.  By the end of 2002, we raised enough funds to re-hire on a part-time basis. In February of 2003 we hired Joan Burda for the Program Director Position. She brings several years of experience and a strong commitment to serving homeless people with her.  NEOCH look forward to seeing where her energy and new ideas takes the program.

Homeless Stand Down: NEOCH worked with Interact Cleveland to develop a Stand Down in the winter to provide a day of respite for nearly 500 homeless people.  The Stand Down featured counseling, shelter services, a meal, and medical care for mothers and children, and was hosted in 2002 by Old Stone Church.

Empowerment

Cleveland Community Voice Mail: Cleveland Community Voice Mail now has 2200 boxes to allocate and in 2002, 1,570 people completed usage of a voice mailbox.  Of those who graduated off voice mail, 80.7% who were seeking housing found it, 67% found employment and 65.8% maintained a communication link.  In order to help address the difficult fundraising climate, NEOCH implemented a membership fee for our partner agencies.  Several Community Voice Mail programs around the country have resorted to some form of membership fee to help sustain their programs.  Our partner agencies now pay a small fee depending on how many boxes they use.  We have lost a few agencies because of this new policy, but the majority complied.

Homeless Grapevine: The Homeless Grapevine street newspaper still continues to operate steadily.  We published seven issues in 2002.  At the North American Street Newspaper (NASNA) Conference we won an award for Honorable Mention for best poetry in North America.  The poem that won this honor was co-written by our very own Michael Gibbs.

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