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I received my fair share of alerts about this article, many asking if I had read it. Indeed, I have, and I had the pleasure of talking to @campbellnyt as he was finishing the article. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/02/us/crime-poverty-pandemic-cleveland.html?smid=tw-share 1/13
I’d like to expand on the story that undergirds the main plot— that a recovering but fragile community was nearing a breaking point, with many of our citizens past breaking. 2/13
There is barely any federal assistance to our neighbors most in need, and zero direct local and state aid. This is not an accident—this is by design. Over the last 40 years, we have built a system that will not help folks unless “they help themselves”. 3/13
This sounds plausible when there are jobs to be had and when it is safe to venture out. But, we have both a struggling economy (Cleveland’s economy was already lousy before the pandemic) and a deadly virus that limits folks from getting jobs or assistance. 4/13
This turns a policy that is, at best, an example of “tough love” into an absolutely immoral set of dehumanizing practices that pushes people into making decisions they would not normally make. 5/13
We (citizens and organizations) are not depending on government to provide the safety net. Instead, we rely on morally strong but financially fragile entities like Elizabeth Baptist Church, @usettlement and @neighborpetscle to do the lion’s share. 6/13
We’ve been fortunate that @LegalAidCLE has been a steadfast leader in fighting to keep folks in their homes. And, quietly in the background, @TBrancatelli has been pushing home stability legislation through City Hall well before the pandemic. 7/13
Over the past few years, @slavicvillage has prioritized helping citizens navigate rental, utility, and other systems that, as the article states, “can feel impossibly opaque” because again, they have been difficult to navigate, by design. 8/13
And, even when we successfully help a citizen or a business apply for assistance, the help can take months to arrive. We just got word around Thanksgiving that checks were being cut for businesses who we help apply for assistance back in April. This is not a joke. 9/13
More than half of my interactions with government have been to nag, beg, or cajole folks who should be our partners in fighting poverty, housing transiency, safety, and financial insolvency. This is effed up. 10/13
While our foundations have stepped up to provide Covid-relief, it comes after years of prioritizing flashy luxuries that are not relevant to 3/4ths of our folks. Many grant applications that are now approved have been ignored in the past because they lacked a “wow factor.” 11/13
Providing direct, basic programs and assistance has no “wow factor.” It doesn’t make headlines that catch people’s attention. It doesn’t win awards. BUT, when it’s ignored in favor of flashing marketing programs that are luxuries, it does result in headlines. 12/13
Headlines such as “Gunfire and Crashing Cars: In Struggling Neighborhoods, ‘We’re Losing Our Grip’" -- END
Postscript-- if you want to and are able to help:
http://thehavenhome.org/
https://www.universitysettlement.net/
http://www.neighborhoodpetscle.org/
http://thehavenhome.org/
https://www.universitysettlement.net/
http://www.neighborhoodpetscle.org/
