Posted on

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! 

 

Posted on

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.

 

Posted on

City of Cleveland responds to recycling incident

Cleveland, OH bulk-pickup suspended throughout April, West Park, News

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.”

Posted on

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/

Posted on

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 […]

via City of Cleveland Provides General Updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Protocols -Update #49 — Straight from City Hall

Posted on

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

Posted on

State of Ohio braces for reopening

State of Ohio braces to reopen, coronavirus, Cleveland, news, updates
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.
Posted on

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

Posted on

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 […]

via City of Cleveland Provides General Updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Protocols -Update #47 — Straight from City Hall

Posted on

Virtual visits now at Neighborhood Family Practice

PEXELS ROYALTY FREE PHOTO TELEMEDICINE stethoscope-2617700_1920

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.” 

Posted on

Jobless claims still climbing, but fewer last week

Unemployment, jobless rate in Ohio, Cleveland, coronavirus, updates, news

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.”

Posted on

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.

 

Posted on

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.

Posted on

NEOCH launches Mutual Aid Fund to support rapid responses to COVID-19 crisis

COURTESY OF NORTHEAST OHIO COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS 

Suncere ali shakur selfie_2
PHOTO COURTESY OF NEOCH Selfie of Suncere Ali Shakur

 

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.

 

NEOCH began receiving offers of financial support soon after the pandemic struck from community members who trusted them to direct those funds where they would have the biggest impact. “When disaster strikes, data shows that the most marginalized people in our society get left behind by large-scale solutions, particularly poor people of color,” says Maggie Rice, who has been coordinating NEOCH’s mutual aid education and outreach. “In response, NEOCH allocated some of the funds we’ve raised to provide rapid response assistance to those disproportionately impacted.”

 

NEOCH launched its Mutual Aid Fund on March 23rd, soon after Gov. DeWine issued the state’s stay-at-home order. Organizers answer a few questions, NEOCH responds within 48 hours, and up to $500 in funding is dispersed to people organizing projects. To date, NEOCH has supported 12 projects totalling $4,300 in support.  Funds have been used to provide food, hygiene, and cleaning products to at-risk neighborhoods, materials to make masks for essential workers, and transportation fare for people being released from prison.

 

Suncere Ali Shakur is no stranger to mutual aid work before the COVID-19 pandemic began. A seasoned activist, Shakur did mutual aid disaster response after Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy. He has also been continuing that effort in his CMHA housing community.

 

“I had already been feeding people in my community,” says Shakur. “I got continued support from Food Not Bombs and others, and just had to add on my Katrina experience to build a supply line to a underserved community.” Shakur, who calls himself a “hope dealer,” used his micro-grant funds to provide toilet paper, hygiene supplies, cleaning products, and food to his neighbors.

 

Gabi Mirelez is a local business owner who has used her funds to make masks for NEOCH, Planned Parenthood, and other essential service providers. Through Sweetlime Queer Tailoring in Tremont, Mirelez has been providing individualized services to the community for several years. She sees mutual aid as a way to meet unique needs, without forcing people to conform to institutional standards that may not be a good fit (pun intended) for them. She says that one-on-one approach is what makes mutual aid so successful.

 

“I’m really grateful to grassroots organizations like NEOCH and CPR that do the work to link people like me up with individuals who can put my masks to immediate use,” Mirelez says. “With the stress of everything that’s going on, I don’t have the capacity to go find the resources I need to move quickly. It was awesome that NEOCH reached out to me and invited me to apply, instead of the other way around.”

 

 

 

PHOTO COURTESY OF NEOCH
Posted on

Out like a lion? March job report closed the books too early to see COVID-19’s toll

Ohio jobs coronavirus, Cleveland, OH, West Park

COURTESY OF POLICY MATTERS OHIO

The numbers: Seasonally adjusted data released today by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) show Ohio employers shed 39,700 jobs in March as Gov. Mike DeWine slowed the spread of the coronavirus by ordering many businesses to close. Total nonfarm jobs fell to 5,559,400, from a revised number of 5,599,100 in February.

March’s numbers lag weekly claims filings. They were gathered during the week ended March 14, a day before Gov. DeWine closed restaurants and bars, and eight days before his stay-at-home order shuttered many more businesses. Thus, they don’t yet reflect most of the effects of COVID-19. ODJFS reported yesterday that 158,678 Ohioans filed initial unemployment claims in the week ended April 11. Initial claims for the past four weeks of 855,197 exceed filings for all of 2018 and 2019 combined. Adams, Clinton, Logan and Union Counties experienced their highest filings last week. Policy Matters has tabulated initial filings for each county.

The numbers from the monthly jobs report:

  • Employers in goods producing cut 2,800 jobs in March as estimated over the week ended March 14. Manufacturers cut 1,200 jobs, construction firms shed 1,500, and mining and logging firms shed 100.
  • Private service sector employers shed 36,300 jobs. The biggest recorded losses were in leisure and hospitality (-27,000). Trade, transportation, and utilities cut 4,400, educational and health services cut 2,200, other services cut 1,600, professional and business services cut 400 and information cut 200.
  • Public sector employment fell by 600 jobs with cuts in state government jobs (-500) and federal government jobs in Ohio (-100). No change was yet reported in local government jobs.

Ohio’s unemployment rate for March reached 5.5%, up from 4.1% in February. During the stay-at-home order, the unemployment rate will understate the true scope of joblessness, because it only counts those actively seeking work.

What it means: “Last month’s jobless numbers don’t yet tell the story of COVID-19’s impact, since they were gathered so early in the month,” said Policy Matters Ohio researcher, Michael Shields.

“Many more workers are already off the job following Gov. DeWine’s ‘stay-at-home’ order. They’re the folks working in jobs not classified as essential, and who can’t do their jobs from home. We want those workers at home to keep them and others safe. But if ODJFS doesn’t move quickly to push unemployment comp to them, then even those who work from home could see their jobs at risk from a drop in consumer spending.”

Solutions:

Get Ohioans the support they need: “The DeWine administration and ODJFS must do everything they can to get unemployment compensation to these folks as quickly as possible,” Shields said. “Governor DeWine made the right decision to protect Ohioans by closing businesses, but now he must take action to alleviate the pain. Many of the restaurant and bar workers sent home by Gov. DeWine over a month ago won’t be able to get benefits for another month. Ohio law excludes workers if they are paid less than $269 per week. They’ll be covered now under temporary federal measures. ODJFS needs to move more quickly to get benefits to these and other newly eligible workers.”

“Supporting workers furloughed by COVID-19 is necessary to prevent a deeper contraction. Some workers are continuing to work because they can do their jobs at home. But if policymakers don’t ensure laid-off workers can continue to pay the rent and buy groceries, the livelihoods of those who are still working could be at risk as well.”

Fix the tax code: “Policy choices that prioritized the wealthy and corporations over families and workers have kept many Ohioans in a precarious position a decade after the last recession. Ohio leaders have misspent 10 years of prosperity on tax cuts for the wealthiest and tax breaks for special interests. In the recovery from this crisis, Ohio needs to rebuild our economy in a way that strengthens everyone. This time we’ve got to get it right.”