Organizational Highlights for 2012

2012 Organizational Highlights

Advocacy

  • NEOCH staff did a great deal work on national and local level regarding the dramatic changes taking place with regard to funding for shelters, and the federal cuts to housing and services.
  • NEOCH spent the summer and fall of 2012 working to register and then get homeless people to vote.  We worked with all the shelters and housing programs to register their constituents and then mobilize them to vote.  NEOCH staff registered 324 voters and 93% of those individuals took the time to cast a ballot—only 2 people voted on Election Day.
  • Staff held a leadership position with the National Coalition for the Homeless as chair the National Homeless Civil Rights Organizing Project.
  • As part of our Homeless Memorial Day and candlelight vigil, we read the names of 74 individuals who passed away in 2012 and had some experience with homelessness.

Public Education

  • The NEOCH published a new website with all new content (www.neoch.org) in March 2012 and had 16,018 unique users in 2012.
  • The Housing Cleveland website which NEOCH co-administers has 28,150 apartment units (50% outside Cleveland) and 4,100 landlords listed on the site.  There were and 130,000 unique users in 2012 conducting almost 800,000 searches with 3,500 units added and 17,000 units modified on the site.
  • We sent staff and Street Voices speakers out to 7 presentations at churches, colleges, and schools in the region. In addition, we assisted with an event to recognize the life work of Jim Schlecht of Care Alliance outreach.
  • Staged the third Hand Up Gala to provide a four star meal to homeless people at the Cosgrove Center, and held a series of Fair Housing educational training sessions.
  • The Coalition assists with the monthly Cuyahoga Affordable Housing Alliance monthly meetings and featured a forum on suburban affordable housing, the Cuyahoga Land Bank, and two presentations from the Department of Housing and Urban Development on their strategic planning activities.

Cleveland Homeless Legal Assistance

  • Lawyers operated 11 different clinics and were able to see 300 clients in 2012.  
  • Lawyers collaborated with Legal Aid attorneys to staff a monthly pro se divorce clinic.

 Community Organizing

  • NEOCH organizes a monthly Homeless Congress meeting allowing homeless people to meet with elected officials and work on solutions to homelessness.  Some of the issues that they worked on in 2012 included diversion, shelter standards, expanding Medicaid, turning foreclosed houses over to homeless people, central intake and diversion.  Councilmen Dale Miller, Zach Reed, Dan Brady, State Rep. Nickie Antonio, and State Senator Nina Turner all met with the Congress in 2012.
  • Collected and distributed over 560 winter blankets in 2012.
  • Published three Street Newspapers providing $24,000 to low income individuals in Cleveland.
  • NEOCH helped to organize the 2012 Homeless Stand Down at the Masonic Auditorium serving nearly 800 homeless people with donations, haircuts, meals, and the important social service providers all in one location.

The complete 2012 Annual Report including finances and plans for 2013 is available on our website here. 

Chris Knestrickannual report, organizational highlights