This article provided by Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism. Please join our free mailing list as this helps us provide more public service reporting.
In early March, just as Ohioans were learning about the first cases of novel coronavirus in the state, Anna Bondar’s grandfather fell at his Cleveland home.
Luckily, the 92-year old, who lives with dementia, wasn’t injured badly.
The tight-knit family started to discuss the possibility of a nursing home, though they had serious reservations.
Carmine Ballard graduated from The Ohio State University in 2016, with two Bachelor of Arts degrees— one in Psychology, another in Women’s and Gender Studies. Ballard’s parents helped them through college— paying their tuition. Yet, despite that, Ballard still ended up with about $10,000 worth of federal student loans by graduation, for living expenses during college.
Ballard graduated with a 3.0 average, and made the dean’s list several times. Ballard planned to get into counseling and spaces that served minorities and other at risk populations.
However, after more than twenty-five applications and interviews that didn’t go anywhere, Carmine, short on cash after three months of applying, ended up taking a food service job to make ends meet. The $114 a month for their student loan repayment was too much to handle with very little income, so Ballard’s parents continued to help out.
“When I tried to apply for jobs, I just wouldn’t hear back. I couldn’t even get a job doing clerical work,” said Ballard.
The Chinese newspaper, which has its headquarters in Cleveland, is one of only 144 media outlets to be awarded a grant across the US from FJP, of which only four were located in Ohio.
The Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless (NEOCH) launched a Mutual Aid Fund to provide support for grassroots, community-based responses to the COVID-19 crisis. NEOCH was inspired by Cleveland Pandemic Response (CPR), a group of local organizers and volunteers who launched a community hub, to directly match people in need with neighbors offering support. Knowing that large systems can be slow to respond, CPR uses a mutual aid model to link community members to free goods and services, and to volunteers who can run errands for people at high risk of infection.
“It literally consumes everything I do”: Ohioans desperate to reach unemployment hotline as calls dropped, claims languish
-Jessica Zalants
By Cid Standifer [for Eye on Ohio]
Marcia Gassaway was in the first wave of Ohioans put out of work by COVID-19.
The single mom from Cleveland went to the emergency room on March 15. Due to her coronavirus-like symptoms, doctors ordered that she be quarantined at a special facility.
Now, she’s recovering at home with her children, calling the unemployment help line over and over again.
The Plain Dealer newsroom will no longer be covering Cleveland, Cuyahoga County or the state of Ohio.
Editor Tim Warsinskey announced Monday to the 14 remaining staff members that the newsroom would, with a few exceptions, become a bureau covering five outlying counties: Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina and Portage.
The move would bar most of the reporters from covering stories in Cuyahoga and Summit counties, as well as statewide issues, where they have developed expertise and have institutional knowledge.
SMALL BUSINESS ALERT The Federal Reserve said it would try to keep credit flowing to households and businesses by buying up commercial paper, short-term promissory notes companies use to fund themselves. At the same time, the Trump administration is preparing to ask for about $850 billion in additional stimulus to…
In accordance with Mayor Frank G. Jackson’s recent Proclamation of Civil Emergency, the City of Cleveland continues to take numerous precautions across multiple departments and divisions amid increasing cases of coronavirus (COVID-19). Click here to view the mayor’s declaration. The City continues to work in partnership with local safety agencies, county public…
The City of Cleveland and the Cleveland Department of Public Health (CDPH) have been notified of a confirmed test result for coronavirus (COVID-19) in a resident of the city. This is the first confirmed result for Cleveland. The confirmed individual is a male, between ages 30-40 who recently returned from…
