Read Volume 1, Issue 1 of the West Park Times newsletter here.
5 Points Coffee & Tea now open with new hours
5 Points Coffee & Tea, 3600 W. Park Rd., is now open with updated hours.
Find those here: https://bit.ly/3dfUMKt
Local heroes: Der Braumeister closes to provide meals to frontline workers
Image from Der Braumeister Newsletter Announcement
Der Braumeister restaurant, 13046 Lorain Ave., announced it will close in order to deliver meals to frontline workers.
“Starting the week of April 26th, we will be working with the Cleveland Clinic to provide over 1000 meals, a few times a week, to their West side hospitals to feed their many caregivers and frontline workers. To be able to provide comfort meals to the people putting their lives at risk to fight this crisis is beyond humbling,” the restaurant stated in a recent newsletter.
Support local! Purchase a Der Braumeister gift card here, or feel leave us a positive review on Yelp!
Survey finds teens feel financial anxieties because of COVID-19
By Jessie Schoonover
The process for student lending has not changed. However, the conversation around going to college and borrowing certainly has.
A recent survey completed by 1,000 of our nation’s teens, between ages 13 and 18 (not currently attending college), found many feel mounting anxieties related to their family’s financial situation, as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
Citizens Bank and Junior Achievement USA conducted a survey with Wakefield Research Group, titled “The JA COVID Impact Survey.”
Key findings of this survey indicate the following:
- More than half of the teens surveyed (57%) are concerned about how COVID-19 will impact their plans for the future.
- Forty-four percent of high school juniors and seniors say COVID-19 has impacted their plans to pay for college, with a majority of those affected (58%) saying they are now likely to take out student loans to help pay for college.
“A lot of what Citizens (Bank) has been about is encouraging families to talk about their finances with their teenage kids in order for them to be prepared for how much money they have to spend for college; how is the family going to be able to afford this and what does it mean from a financial standpoint,” says head of student lending at Citizens Bank, Christine Roberts.
“What’s very encouraging from this survey is that over 70% of the students that responded said that they are having this conversation with their parents, that they are actively having conversations around the family’s finances— how COVID-19 has affected their family’s finances— and then they are actually taking that and thinking about it in terms of now what does that mean for the next round of decisions that I need to make,” she says.
Roberts says this can translate to the following:
- Do I go to a different school, public vs. private?
- Am I going to go someplace that is less expensive but still really good?
- Am I going to go closer to home?
- Is it better for me to stay close to home to save money and avoid any pandemic issues related to travel in the future?
- Do I take a gap year and wait it out since I do not necessarily want to change the school of my choice?
- Do I need to take out additional money or more than expected in loans to cover college costs?
“It is a lot in some ways, but I think it’s great that these families are having these conversations,” Roberts says.
According to Joe Faulhaber president of Junior Achievement of Greater Cleveland, “our hope was to shed a light on some of the anxieties and challenges these kids have identified, as they think about their next steps in their educational journey. But, also, in the way they think about work and summer jobs and paying for college, and whether or not they go to college right away, if they are a graduating senior, or take a gap year. That was really the crux of it,” he says regarding the survey.
“In general, really what we’re seeing is a not insignificant amount of teens that are either being relied upon already to financially contribute to their household— and given mass layoffs that we’re seeing in the news every day; our continued negative job outlook for the broader economy overall— teens are being asked and really forced to take on a more active role in the finances in their household.”
*Survey conducted April 2020.
Celebrating the Class of 2020 in West Park!
Were you part of this West Park parade seen May 1st?
City of Cleveland responds to recycling incident
Recent reports indicate city waste intended for recycling is going to the landfill instead.
City of Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson’s office announced the following in a media release April 29:
“You may have recently seen media reports
regarding changes in the way we handle residential recycling and where those materials
ultimately end up. We think it is important to share with you how we got where we are and
where we intend to go moving forward. As a City, we remain committed to being good
environmental stewards and we remain committed to recycling.
Residential recycling is collected by employees from our Department of Public Works and those
materials are taken to our Ridge Road Transfer Station before being hauled away by a third
party agency for processing. Our contract for handling those recycled materials expired on April
1, 2020. In anticipation of that contract expiring, we went out to bid on two occasions. The first
time, no companies bid to take our recycled materials.
The second time we attempted to secure a new contract for these services, we received one bid.
This bid would have charged the City of Cleveland tonnage costs that were well above market
prices – potentially increasing our program costs by $6 million annually.
These unbudgeted, increased costs can be attributed to several factors. First, fundamental
changes in the global market for recycled materials has changed dramatically since our citywide
program was launched. When we launched our program, we were being paid for our materials.
This is not the case any longer. Second, the company that bid on our contract had higher than
anticipated transportation costs dues to the fact that materials would be hauled to Southwest
Ohio. Finally, our rate of contamination in our materials is higher than we would like to see –
about 68% of recycled materials are contaminated and have to be sent to a regular landfill –
which increases the price we would have to pay.
We have selected a consultant to evaluate the entirety of how we address our local waste stream
– including regular solid waste and recycling. As a part of this effort we have tasked this
consultant with identifying what makes sense based on our local context, what is consistent with
our commitment to environmental sustainability, and what is financially responsible. We expect
this work will take a few months to complete and during this process we intend to have
opportunities for public input.”
Masks strongly urged but not required in Ohio
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine stated at his daily press briefing today that wearing a facial mask in public spaces is strongly encouraged but is no longer an official mandate.
Governor DeWine is noted to have posted the following to Twitter:
“…There are limitations to them, but masks help. Wearing a mask should be accepted. We won’t require them in Ohio, but I intend on wearing one and you should consider doing so.”
For more information on Ohio’s reopening, visit here. https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/responsible-restart-ohio/
Tito’s Handmade Vodka donates PPE and hand sanitizers, residents reminded to flush plumbing when reopening, and other updates
The City of Cleveland continues to take numerous precautions across multiple departments and divisions amid increasing cases of coronavirus (COVID-19). Mayor Frank G. Jackson has extended the Proclamation of Civil Emergency through April 30, 2020. Click here to view the mayor’s declaration. Essential services such as Police, Fire, EMS, waste collection and Utilities are operational. 23 […]
CDC expands list of coronavirus symptoms
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has expanded its list of coronavirus symptoms to include the following:
- “Chills
- Repeated shaking with chills
- Muscle pain
- Headache
- Sore throat
- New loss of taste or smell”
Other symptoms include fever, cough, and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath.
Visit the CDC’s web site here. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html
State of Ohio braces for reopening
Cases in Ohio rose by 339 in the last 24 hours. Numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases appear to be declining by the day.
Meanwhile, states across the country are beginning to reopen.
Governor Mike DeWine announced he would like to begin reopening things in the state but that he is apprehensive to backslide when it comes to the progressive we’ve made.
According to sources, on May 12th ‘consumer, retail, and services’ are expected to reopen. Employees and patrons are still asked to follow certain protocols, including keeping 6-feet away from individuals and/or installing barriers.
On May 4th, ‘general office environments can reopen’ in Ohio. However, it is still encouraged to have individuals work from home when possible.
On May 4th ‘manufacturing, distribution, and construction’ are said to open again with certain requirements in place.
A number of street improvement projects projected for 2020
CONTENT COURTESY OF THE MAYOR’S OFFICE
Thanks to Mayor Frank G. Jackson’s enhanced budget, made possible by Issue 32, the City of Cleveland will embark on more street improvement projects in 2020 than years past. Projects span all neighborhoods and wards throughout the city. Here are some highlights about this year’s road work: Potholes are serviced year round, weather permitting. The Department of […]
via Cleveland Road Work News: April 27, 2020 — Straight from City Hall
City of Cleveland Provides General Updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Protocols -Update #47 — Straight from City Hall
The City of Cleveland continues to take numerous precautions across multiple departments and divisions amid increasing cases of coronavirus (COVID-19). Mayor Frank G. Jackson has extended the Proclamation of Civil Emergency through April 30, 2020. Click here to view the mayor’s declaration. Essential services such as Police, Fire, EMS, waste collection and Utilities are operational. Read […]
Virtual visits now at Neighborhood Family Practice
Telemedicine appointments are now available via Neighborhood Family Practice (NFP).
A telemedicine appointment allows a patient to utilize video and/or audio to meet with an NFP provider virtually or remotely.
Originally, say officials from NFP, restrictions made it difficult for urban providers to offer telemedicine.
“A lot of focus has been expanding this broadband to rural areas,” says NFP’s Assistant Medical Director of Medical Informatics Chad Garven, MD. “It was originally used to get access to more rural patients…”
However, in light of COVID-19, things have changed― and fast.
“What happened in mid-March is, it became alarmingly clear that just about any in-person interaction is going to be not only unsafe for patients, but potentially for our staff.”
As officials at NFP began looking at how a digital platform could work for them, laws in place regarding telemedicine changed as well.
“The laws became a lot less restrictive. There was not a distance qualifier, as far as ‘could the provider be near a patient but on a virtual platform?’ That was one of the ones that made a lot of sense for our urban population, particularly where our clinics are located,” says Garven.
“It was a combination of safety concerns but then sort of our mission, which is to care for this near-West Side that otherwise often goes uncared for or underappreciated. We said we have to do something. And by virtue of necessity, sort of jumped at that opportunity.”
“We completed a strategic plan about six months ago,” says NFP President and CEO Jean Polster. “We looked at telemedicine and what we were really thinking about is that the laws were super restrictive in terms of being able to bill for telemedicine.”
“We were thinking about it more as how are we going to get patients connected with specialty care? And maybe ways that they would be able to stay in our offices but still see a specialist because our patients are most comfortable in our location.”
In July reimbursement opened up, says Polster, loosening some of those restrictions. But even then, she says, restrictions still remained when it came to urban vs. rural access.
“I just have to give a shout out to the handling of the crisis by our Governor DeWine and his director of the Department of Health Dr. Amy Acton. One of the first things they did, when they saw this happening, is, not only did they open up the ability to do remote access for appointments― and not only for behavioral health, which is really where there had been the most telehealth in the state going on prior― but they just threw all the regulations aside and said go for it. Serve your patients in the best way that you can.”
It was about helping patients while maintaining their safety, which meant keeping them out of public spaces as much as possible.
“Within a week we were able to develop these applications and teach folks how to use some of the applications,” says Polster. “But it was a pivot. It took us a week to make the pivot and it would have taken us months, if not years, to make that pivot in a non-crisis situation.”
According to Garven, around 90-percent of NFP visits are now telemedicine based.
“It is a video platform and it visually looks like what a Facetime or Skype or Zoom call would look like,” he says.
Many of the telemedicine health processes are the same as an in-office visit. There is a registration process, and a medical assistant will talk to the patient about their medications and acute issues.
It is also convenient, as there is no driving to the facility or hanging out in the waiting room.
“The no show rate has rapidly declined,” says Garven.
“We are excited to accept new patients,” says Polster. “We definitely want to serve more people in the community. We do have the capacity to serve more people, and we are able to do appointments on a same-day basis. We welcome new patients and hope that we can keep more community members healthy and safe at this time.”
“We do have some face-to-face visits available when it’s urgent,” Polster adds. “If we are very concerned about something we are seeing, we are bringing you in the office. Or if there’s care that you need that can only be delivered in person, like a shot, like a birth control monthly shot, we’ve created an environment that’s safe for folks to come in― widely spaced; only certain hours. We’re giving people access to the care that they need. Most of it is delivered while you’re still in your home but if things are needed, we do have the ability to see you safely in six locations.”
Jobless claims still climbing, but fewer last week
Courtesy of Policy Matters Ohio
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) today reported that Ohioans filed 109,369 initial jobless claims for the week ended April 18, down from 226,007 the prior week. Total new claims for the last five weeks approached 1 million, with 964,566 filings. Together these claims exceed all jobless claims filed for the prior two years by 249,054. ODJFS has distributed initial payments to 376,000 claimants thus far. Policy Matters Ohio Researcher Michael Shields released the following statement:
“Flattening the curve of COVID-19 means Ohioans need to stay home from work until our health departments get the tests they need to prevent a surge of infections once businesses reopen. That means ODJFS must work quickly to get unemployment compensation (UC) to those who need it. Ohio is falling behind other states in allowing many workers who haven’t previously qualified for benefits to receive them.
“ODJFS said it will begin processing newly eligible claimants by mid-May. For folks who have been out of work since March, that’s a long time to wait. It’s understandable that getting a new claims system up and running takes time. It is not reasonable that many now waiting for federal help were excluded from state benefits they should have been eligible for in the first place.
“Ohio law excludes workers paid less than $269 per week on average – like many of the restaurant workers sent home by Gov. DeWine on March 15 – from state UC benefits. Ohio law completely excludes drivers employed by ride-hailing companies such as Uber. ODJFS needs to get benefits to these workers as quickly as possible, and Ohio policymakers must change eligibility rules so they will be eligible for UC going forward.
“Alleviating hardship for workers displaced by this crisis is critical, and getting it right is the way to prevent a short-term disruption from becoming a protracted recession. Forcing Ohioans back to work before our health departments have the testing they need to isolate coronavirus cases would endanger lives. Instead Ohio’s leaders in government need to make sure people can cover the rent and groceries while their earnings are on hold. Maintaining their consumer spending is going to be vital to keeping businesses afloat and preventing long-term job loss.
“Too many Ohioans never recovered from the last recession. In the recovery from this crisis, Ohio can rebuild our economy in a way that strengthens everyone. This time we’ve got to get it right.”
Ohio coronavirus numbers looking good, for now…
Numbers of new coronavirus cases appear to be on decline.
The past few days, numbers have reflected the following:
4/22: Today’s 24-hour increase= 359. Today’s total= 13,609 . Yesterday’s total= 13,250.
4/21: Today’s 24-hour increase= 734. Today’s total= 13,250 . Yesterday’s total= 12,516.
4/20: Today’s 24-hour increase= 1,224. Today’s total= 12,516. Yesterday’s total= 11,292.
Stay-at-home order aims to protect the masses: But how does this impact those looking to gather at their place of worship?
By Jessie Schoonover
The West Park Times reached out to various faith leaders in this area to see how they are maintaining services, connections, faith, and more during these challenging times.
“The building is not the church,” says Rev. Jason Thompson of the West Park United Church of Christ (UCC), 3909 Rocky River Dr. “That is something that is hard for us to remember.”
In fact, worshipping in private homes is not a new concept, Thompson says.
“It was the tradition of the early church to worship in private homes, and we still embrace home worship,” says Thompson, adding that for some, this can feel ‘less holy,’ so to speak.
“We also have historical records of home worship during the Spanish influenza pandemic right here in Cleveland (circa 1918),” says Thomspon. “When local churches were under order to close. Our pastor at the time, the Rev. J.P. Reidinger, instructed the congregation on how to hold worship services in their own homes.
“Today, of course, we have technology that these earlier communities could have only imagined.”
According to Thompson, these activities of West Park UCC have been moved to an online format:
- Sunday worship
- Children’s meetings
- Prayer shawl
- Board meetings
- Coffee hour
Everyone is welcome to attend these online events.
“These connections are vital in allowing us to maintain a relationship with each other and with God. And that is the church. The church is the relationship we have with God, with each other, and with our world,” Thompson says. (To access services, visit http://westparkucc.org/covid-19-update/.)
According to Rabbi Enid C. Lader of Beth Israel- The West Temple, 14308 Triskett Rd., ‘meeting’ has taken on a different meaning, but celebrations of the Shabbat, learning of the Torah, preparation for Passover and movement through the Passover seder continue.
“Since the outbreak of the coronavirus,” says Lader, “my congregation has offered our services online. Each service has been led in ‘real-time,’ giving people the opportunity to see each other, participate in the service by reading various parts of the service, and share wishes and blessings with each other at the end of each service.”
Lader says: “We have ‘met’ together for a special service of mourning and healing. Our religious school families have ‘met’ together for song and prayer. Our Hebrew school students have ‘met’ together to continue their learning.”
In addition, around 40 families from the religious school sent letters and cards expressing smiles and holiday wishes to 110 other temple households. Passover foods were also delivered by members of the congregation to other members who were unable to go out and shop for themselves.
“We continue to reach out to our members with calls to touch base and make sure all is well,” says Lader. “If people are in need, we try to make the connections to help them out.”
Pastor Rob Plain of Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, 12826 Lorain Ave., says, “Yes, we livestream all our services on YouTube at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. Anyone can find us online by searching my name, Rev. Rob Plain.”
He also provides this passage: Joshua 1:9 tells us this; “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
“While this is an unprecedented event in our lives, this is not unprecedented in history,” says Plain. “Noah was quarantined on an ark with his family and all the animals for 375 days; the Israelites were quarantined in the wilderness for 40 years before they entered the promised land; Jonah was quarantined in the belly of a fish for 3 days, just to name a few examples…”
According to Plain, staying connected with your ‘church family’ can provide strength, and can be done via phone, text, email, and online livestreaming.
“People miss each other,” says Father Doug Koesel of Blessed Trinity Church, 14040 Puritas Ave. “They miss the connectedness that we have made and the ways we collectively reach out to the neighborhood and the world.”
“Two phrases we hear over and over during this crisis are that ‘we are in this together,’ and that ‘one day this will end.’ Those are two fundamental aspects of religion,” Koesel says.
“For those who are not church/temple/mosque attenders, the coronavirus probably has no impact. They can still pray at home, read scripture on the Internet, and even watch spiritual TED talks. But for those of us Christians for whom weekly worship is an essential ingredient in life because we believe Jesus’s call to community, there is no substitute for gathering together as God’s people.”
“During Lent, sheltering at home was a time to reflect on suffering and death, and what a real Lenten penance that is. Now that we are in the Easter season, we look forward in hope. We pray for our scientists to find a cure/vaccine/treatment, and we pray that we listen to scientists first and foremost.”
The story doesn’t have to end here! If we’ve missed you or your church, congregation, or other place of worship, write to us at westparktimes@gmail.com.
FOOD PANTRY INFORMATION:
WEST PARK UCC, 3909 Rocky River Dr. ― Food pantry operates every Saturday, 9 a.m.-noon. The church has offered hundreds of bags of food to West Park neighbors over the last six weeks.
BLESSED TRINITY CHURCH, 14040 Puritas Ave. ― The Hunger Center, called the Bountiful Basement, continues to serve people. It is open Tuesday 9:30 a.m.-noon, and Wednesday 5-6:45 p.m. Stay in your car. If you walk to the center, follow strict guidelines of those in charge. The produce giveaway also continues the first Wednesday of the month, 4:30-6:30 p.m. Again, stay in your cars and follow the directions given to you when you arrive.
Cleveland Metropolitan School District
Free college and trade school tuition scholarships for four-year CMSD grads!
Visit SayYesCleveland.org.
These Are The Faces of Eviction in Ohio
PHOTO & STORY COURTESY OF THE NORTHEAST COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS (NEOCH)
Last month, the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless (NEOCH) and a group of 80 organizations delivered a letter to Governor DeWine calling for a statewide residential eviction moratorium. Since then, over 700 people have signed the letter, 100 of whom are at risk of eviction at this very moment. On April 1, Gov. Mike DeWine issued 90-day eviction and foreclosure protections for commercial businesses. Now, the governor should provide similar supports for Ohio residential renters.
Minimizing evictions in Ohio during this period is critical to reducing the spread of COVID-19. Yesterday, national housing expert Matthew Desmond and The Eviction Lab released its COVID-19 Housing Policy Scorecard, giving Ohio a failing score of 0.08/5. The Scorecard evaluates on a number of emergency measures in the eviction process, from filing initiation, the enforcement of eviction orders, to providing tenant protections like requiring landlords to accept late payments and prohibiting them from charging late fees during the moratorium period. Even if a moratorium were granted across Ohio, tenant protections are necessary to prevent an eviction tsunami later this summer.
Here are some of the stories of people facing eviction across Ohio right now, which you can listen to here. Each individual is willing to share their story publicly.
Joy lives in Bedford Heights with her 7 year old daughter. She was laid off in March due to COVID-19 closures. She’s paid rent on time for the place she’s lived for 15 years, but without child care and no word from the unemployment office, she’s bracing herself for an eviction hearing next month.
Angela from Mansfield is staying in a motel after getting evicted for being 3 days late on rent while she was in the hospital. She’s finding it difficult to find a new place to live while the state is shut down and as she recovers from surgery complications.
Stephen, who lives with his family in Springfield, was laid off in January and received an eviction notice back in March. The hearing was delayed until May, but he’s struggling to make arrangements during the pandemic with no income and no apartment showings available.
Vieda, a gig worker in Cleveland, lost 70% of her income since the demand for Uber/Lyft plummeted. She’s unable to pay April or May rent, and she’s nervous that her landlord might not be patient while she waits to start a new job, which might get delayed since she’s been feeling sick.
Many Ohioans have experienced a substantial loss of income as a result of layoffs and the loss of wages related to COVID-19, hampering their ability to keep up with rent and leaving them vulnerable to eviction. During a time when many Ohioans are already experiencing a homelessness crisis, the COVID-19 outbreak has made it clear that our state cannot afford to compound the problem by not offering tenant protections for renters impacted by the pandemic.