52 men refuse to leave Ramada Inn in fear of risking their lives in congregate shelter during pandemic

Crowne Plaza/Ramada by Wyndham Cleveland Independence, located at 5300 Rockside Rd, Independence, OH 44131

By Molly Martin

Cleveland, OH—On the morning of July 14th, the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless (NEOCH) learned that several men experiencing homelessness were planning to refuse to leave the Ramada Inn on Thursday, July 15, the date that Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry is scheduled to cease emergency shelter operations at the hotel. Currently, 103 men experiencing homelessness are residing at the hotel to escape the danger that covid-19 and variants pose to public health.

NEOCH stands in solidarity with the men who are refusing to leave, especially after Independence’s racist and discriminatory actions to remove the men from the hotel. As of 9pm Wednesday, 52 of the 103 men currently seeking emergency housing at the Ramada Inn are refusing to depart because they feel unsafe and they are calling on the County to reverse course. 

Despite the support of the owner of the Ramada Inn, over 2 months ago Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry was asked by Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish to end their contract with the hotel after speaking with Independence Mayor Gregory Kurtz. According to the hotel’s owner Sharif Omara, “We have supported LMM and these men for months and we cannot let them leave this way. They have the right, as humans, to have a safe and comfortable place to stay. It is dangerous and inhumane to throw everyone into 2100 Lakeside Ave. We believe this will definitely increase COVID-19 amongst the homeless population as most of them have yet to be fully vaccinated.”

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Family members who lost loved ones to police action speak at community meeting on Consent Decree

NEXT CLEVELAND CONSENT DECREE COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS 6:00 PM JULY 14 & AUGUST 11

By Rich Weiss, for Neighborhood & Community Media Association of Greater Cleveland

The Neighborhood and Community Media Association of Greater Cleveland is providing monthly reports on a series of community conversations about the 2015 Consent Decree negotiated between the US Department of Justice and the City of Cleveland regarding the policies and practices of the Cleveland Police Department.

Four local community members who lost loved ones to Cleveland Police Department (CPD) use-of-force were the Zoom panelists for the June public input meeting on the Cleveland Consent Decree.  United Way of Greater Cleveland and the Cleveland Branch of the NAACP co-sponsored this and five previous public conversations on the Consent Decree and its ramifications for our Cleveland communities.

Background: The Cleveland Consent Decree is a court-enforceable agreement that resulted from an investigation into the CPD by the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (DOJ).  The DOJ is the agency of the federal government that has the authority to investigate and prosecute alleged violations of citizens’ constitutional rights by the CPD.

After a 21-month investigation, the DOJ found the CPD had engaged in a pattern of excessive force.  The Cleveland Consent Decree was agreed upon by the City of Cleveland and the DOJ to “…repair community trust and protect the constitutional rights of the people of the City of Cleveland.”  The Consent Decree was signed into effect by Judge Solomon Oliver, Jr. and the DOJ on June 12, 2015.  The agreement mandates “…the City will file a status report every six months thereafter while this agreement is in effect.”

The agreement also calls on “the community” of Cleveland to be a part of the reform process by serving on various Consent Decree committees and/or by attending local community meetings such as this to share concerns and real-life experiences from the community, and for the community to make recommendations for policy change. 

Photo of Angelo Miller and son courtesy of Alicia Kirkman

Alicia Kirkman was asked to be a panelist at the June public meeting on the Cleveland Consent Decree because her son, Angelo Miller, died in 2007 in an incident involving CPD use-of-force. 

Kirkman told the Zoom attendees, “Angelo was my everything.  Angelo was 17 years old, and I was still dropping Angelo off at high school and Angelo would still give me a kiss like he was still my 5 year old.  Still that loving, funny Angelo, he brought joy to all of us, to my whole family.  And he had two sons—Angelo was a father and his two sons didn’t get a chance to know their father.  I continue to fight for justice.  I want murder charges against the officer that killed Angelo.  We need charges.  The whole thing—when it comes to settlements and the families being paid—we need cops to be charged with murder.  If we get more charged with murder, they’ll stop killing.  They’ll stop killing.”

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Community members needed to join sixth Cleveland Consent Decree Community Conversation sponsored by NAACP- Cleveland Chapter and United Way of Greater Cleveland: 6:00 pm, June 09

By Rich Weiss, for Neighborhood & Community Media Association of Greater Cleveland

If you missed your chance to attend the May 12th public input meeting on the Cleveland Police Consent Decree, your input is still needed for the upcoming Consent Decree Community Conversation at 6:00 pm on June 9 (on Zoom).  This public meeting (co-sponsored by the local chapters of the United Way and NAACP) seeks your opinions and questions on progress of the Cleveland Division of Police in the areas of Families and Communities Building Resilience.

Rosie Palfy, who is a a community advocate, a homeless advocate, a veterans advocate, and a member of the city of Cleveland Mental Health Response Advisory Committee since it was created in 2015, said, “I think that the event was really well received…and I’ve got nothing but positive feedback from the community. Strangers have reached out to me on social media, and it’s a small world out there. So somebody knows somebody, who knows me and they send me an email, and so I’m really glad I participated in it and I actually felt empowered afterwards. I was very pleasantly surprised at how it went.”

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Community members needed to join fifth Cleveland Consent Decree Community Conversation sponsored by NAACP- Cleveland Chapter and United Way of Greater Cleveland: 6:00 pm, May 12

By Rich Weiss, for Neighborhood & Community Media Association of Greater Cleveland

If you missed your chance to attend the April 15th public input meeting on the Cleveland Police Consent Decree, your input is still needed for the upcoming Consent Decree Community Conversation at 6:00 pm on May 12 (on Zoom).  This public meeting (co-sponsored by the local chapters of the United Way and NAACP) seeks your opinions and questions on progress of the Cleveland Division of Police in the areas of Crisis Intervention and Officer Wellness.

According to Roger Smith, Administrator of Cleveland’s Office of Professional Standards, “It’s really what the grassroots wants that should be driving this train.  It’s important for public figures and people who work in public agencies to understand with clarity what it is the community wants, here—what role they want the police to play in their communities and what kind of rules do they want to govern those interactions.  The only way to find that out is to get it from the community.”

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FirstEnergy’s transparency pledge clashes with ongoing actions

The company’s broad view of its ongoing investigation for purposes of limiting public disclosures seems at odds with its narrow view and piecemeal approach to regulatory proceedings.

By Kathiann M. Kowalski

This article provided by Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism in partnership with the nonprofit Energy News Network. Please join their free mailing list or the mailing list for the Energy New Network as this helps us provide more public service reporting.

Complete disclosures are still not forthcoming from FirstEnergy, Energy Harbor and others who may have played roles in an alleged conspiracy that funneled millions of dollars to former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder in order to elect lawmakers sympathetic to House Bill 6, pass the law and then prevent voters from having a chance to reject the law in a statewide referendum.

FirstEnergy President and CEO Steven Strah said at the company’s Feb. 18 earnings call that the company is now “deeply committed to creating a culture in which … our leaders prioritize and encourage open and transparent communications with all of our stakeholders.” Strah became acting CEO last October and was formally appointed to the position on March 8, replacing Chuck Jones, who was fired for violating “certain FirstEnergy policies and its code of conduct.”

Yet there continues to be a clash between that stated commitment and what the company has actually disclosed. In particular, the company still has not provided full details about its various contributions to dark money groups that funneled money to the Republican Governors Association, Generation Now, campaigns for Gov. Mike DeWine and his daughter, and others.

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Vancouver New Leaf Project Study Shows One-Time Direct Cash Transfers Positively Impact Homeless

By Rich Weiss & Jeneane Vanderhoff

This story was sponsored by the Northeast Ohio Solutions Journalism Collaborative (NEOSOJO), which is composed of 20-plus Northeast Ohio news outlets including The West Park Times, The Cleveland Street Chronicle, and The Tremonster, each of which contributed significantly to this report.

Thousands of people experience homelessness in Cleveland and Akron every year. But what if these people were given money? Money that they could use to dig their way out of poverty and turn a new leaf?

When the Poverty and Homelessness Beat Reporter for The Tremonster, Jeneane Vanderhoff (currently experiencing homelessness along with her husband, Adam), was considering reporting on any existing solution that might help alleviate the problem of homelessness in Northeast Ohio, she said, “I read a study—I think it was Canada—they just recently gave homeless people $7,500 and saw how the people spent it.  It basically got them out of homelessness.  It did quite a bit to turn their lives around; they really didn’t waste the money—it’s a recent study.”

Our research led us to The New Leaf project in Vancouver, Canada, which recently published the study Vanderhoff had noticed.  The Vancouver-based project demonstrated that money from one-time cash transfers was spent wisely and provided stability in the lives of individuals recently experiencing homelessness.

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Next Cleveland Consent Decree Community Conversation: 6:00 pm, April 14

By Rich Weiss for Neighborhood & Community Media Association of Greater Cleveland

Have you ever wondered: “How is the dedication to community engagement reflected in the Cleveland Police Department’s current budget?”

Do you have a handle on: “What is the CPRB (Civilian Police Review Board) and what is its function?”

In the moment—when you or a loved one comes face-to-face with Cleveland Police Department policies—will you know: “Are body cameras used by all officers, and what is the protocol for turning body cameras on and off?”

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