Vote by Mail in Ohio: The Best Way to Do It a video forum on May 6, 2020 at 7pm

Vote by Mail in Ohio: The Best Way to Do It
A video forum with voting rights experts from Colorado, Oregon and Ohio
Wednesday May 6, 2020 at 7pm edt

Here’s the video:

With a massive vote by mail effort needed for the November 2020 election, how should Ohio proceed?

(The video starts about 5 minutes into the event)
 
The speakers in order of appearance:
 
Kate Titus, Executive Director, Common Cause Oregon
 
Camille Wimbish, Ohio Voter Rights Coalition
 
Jen Miller, Executive Director, League of Women Voters Ohio
 
Amanda Gonzalez Executive Director, Colorado Common Cause
 
Moderated by Catherine Turcer, Executive Director, Common Cause Ohio

 

“Money in Politics” Forum June 2020 edition Tuesday June 9, 2020 at 7pm edt

Money in Politics June 2020 edition
Tuesday June 9, 2020 at 7pm edt
“Following the Money: The History and Where We are Now”
In March, the US Supreme Court refused to hear a case called Doe v. Federal Election Commission, thus leaving in place a pro-disclosure ruling from a lower court. This move by the Court suggests that there is still strong support for more transparency in elections and against the use of straw donors.

Catherine Turcer, Exec Director, Common Cause Ohio will bring us up to date on one of the most critical areas of #democracy: Money in Politics in 2020
The video from the forum is here:

RSVP HERE:

Cosponsored by Common Cause Ohio and the League of Women Voters-Greater Cleveland

How Cleveland nonprofits plan to survive COVID-19 by Briana Oldham

Summary of Video forum from May 21, 2020 by Briana Oldham
The pdf is here
Rachell Dissell, moderator, Emily Campbell, Assoc Director, Center of Community SolutionsMelissa Graves, CEO, Domestic Violence & Child Advocacy CenterCynthia J. Ries, Exec Director, Greater Cleveland Community SharesSondra Miller, President & CEO, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center

How Cleveland nonprofits plan to survive COVID-19
by Briana Oldham

COVID-19 has changed everything. Creating a new landscape for the future comes with adjusting to the times.

In a forum held Thursday night, a panel of representatives from several nonprofits in the city of Cleveland came together to discuss the impact of COVID-19 and how to adapt to the new normal.

The hour-long discussion, presented by the Shaker Heights Chapter of the League of Women Voters Greater Cleveland opened with remarks from former Plain Dealer reporter, Rachel Dissell.

How can nonprofits continue to deliver services to Cleveland residents during a global pandemic?

Panelists Emily Campbell, Associate Director from the Center for Community Solutions, Melissa Graves, CEO of the Domestic Violence & Child Advocacy Center, Sondra Miller, President & CEO of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, and Cynthia J. Ries, Executive Director of the Greater Cleveland Community Shares took to Zoom to answer this and so much more.

Graves, who has spent her career working with vulnerable families, noted that decisions on how to provide services during this time were made immediately. Due to all the uncertainty right now, which abusers don’t like, the center felt it best to keep critical services open.

“We knew it was going to be a very volatile and dangerous situation [having abusers at home around the clock] so we pivoted very quickly,” Graves said.

What Graves and the staff found when trying to provide remote services was that it forced the center to go in a direction that they had already been moving toward but had yet to complete. The staff has been able to attend virtual trainings and webinars to provide advocacy services to work with clients remotely.

“There is a curiosity around what’s been happening with domestic violence and child abuse,” Graves said.

With that idea in mind, the mission is now more important than ever, and their efforts have been well received. Since people still need housing, the center has also worked diligently to expedite permanent housing in order to provide some level of social distancing.

Pivoting was a resounding theme during the forum, as several agencies had to move to immediately decide how to proceed and without a lot of information at the time.

The Center for Community Solutions conducted a survey about problems agencies were facing and how they were dealing with them. Campbell wanted to look at data to get a sense of if the reports they received were across the board or just in some area pockets.

There were 734 groups across the state of Ohio over the span of two weeks in late April who participated in the survey. Though all 88 counties were represented, the core of the responses came from Cuyahoga County where community solutions has the deepest reach.

The biggest question was what the level of disruption was on the various agencies due to COVID-19 and/or the Stay at Home Order.

“We thought it was important to ask about those two things together because what we’re seeing is that it’s not just about the virus, it’s the response to the virus as well,” Campbell said.

What they found was the vast majority of service providers reported their services had been disrupted. Though 38% indicated that there was some disruption, but it was manageable, 20% listed significant disruption and they expect the return to services to be difficult.

“We are most concerned with the 20% because these are the groups that have faced some real challenges over the course of the last two months,” Campbell said.

A big takeaway was that over 75% reported shifting to providing services over the phone or via video chat as a way to adjust. The responses came from agencies ranging from a staff size of five people to those with over 500 employees.

There are pivots that pertaining to certain agencies had to make that most others might not have had to consider. This holds true for the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center due to the inability to have in person visits and provide emergency room support.

Miller described coming up with goals at the beginning of the year to transition to providing services via telehealth but didn’t think they would be implemented so quickly. Telehealth is the ability to provide health services and support electronically using various means of technology.

“Staffing clients who started out being a little bit resistant to it, came to really enjoy it and feel like that it was an even better experience,” Miller said.

Some chose not to participate, as this method of receiving advocacy is not for everyone. The center also had to navigate the hospital emergency rooms since there were a lot of mixed reactions to new protocols in place.

Miller believes there is an opportunity for telehealth services to continue, especially in parts of the state where they do not have 24-hour sexual assault nursing units.

“I see telehealth being woven into what the future could look like there,” Miller said.

Financial challenges agencies are facing have also become a huge topic of discussion when it comes to nonprofits. Ries began to hear from agencies the Greater Cleveland Community Shares partners with and serves almost immediately at the peak of the pandemic.

Ries mentioned getting a lot of calls and a lot of questions. This is in large part due to most of the members being performing arts groups. Ries notes there being a lot of anxiety about canceled events and what that means for funders.

Though many organizations received loans, the help provided only temporary relief and what the future looks like would still need to be addressed.

“I think what we’re going to see in the next couple months and next year is that fundraising is definitely going to be different,” Ries said.

Ries thinks Cleveland is a generous community and will rally together. She mentions that several foundations have already stepped up and that it has been impressive to watch.

The arts groups have gotten creative when coming up with ways to serve young people and keep them connected and engaged.

“Our arts groups, our members have really stepped up, and have been doing great community based, family based, meaningful work,” Ries said.

The concept of community shares is the idea of being able to help each other. People still have the desire to do this even during such an unprecedented time and it is clear the support is a mighty force.

##

How will some of Cleveland’s most critical non profits survive Covid-19?
A video forum on May 21, 2020
with Rachel Dissell, former Plain Dealer Reporter and panelists:
•Emily Campbell, Assoc Director, Center of Community Solutions
•Melissa Graves, CEO, Domestic Violence & Child Advocacy Center
•Sondra Miller, President & CEO, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center
•Cynthia J. Ries, Exec Director, Greater Cleveland Community Shares

How will some of Cleveland’s most critical non profits survive Covid-19? a forum moderated by Rachel Dissell May 21

 

How will some of Cleveland’s most critical non profits survive Covid-19?

How will nonprofits that serve the most vulnerable communities recover following the COVID-19 pandemic?

Nonprofits have had budgets cut and had to cancel fundraisers, just as the need for front line mental health care, shelter and food has skyrocketed. Will they get the they need to survive?

Virtual Forum
Thursday May 21 7pm
The forum write up/summary is here: by Briana Oldham
The video is here:

•Emily Campbell, Assoc Director, Center of Community Solutions

•Melissa Graves, Chief Executive Officer, Domestic Violence & Child Advocacy Center

•Sondra Miller – President and CEO, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center

•Cynthia J. Ries, Exec Director, Greater Cleveland Community Shares

Moderated by Rachel Dissell, journalist and former Plain Dealer reporter

Sponsored by LWV of Greater Cleveland-Shaker Hts. Chapter and Hey Shaker

The Crisis in Local News: Reinventing the Business of Journalism Video Forum 4/16/2020 at 7pm

The Crisis in Local News:
Reinventing the Business of Journalism
Video Forum on Thursday April 16 at 7 p.m.
Here’s the video

We hope you’ll tune in to listen to our panelists from Policy Matters Ohio , Common Cause Ohio, Eye on Ohio and The Devil Strip as they discuss business models that could save the future of local journalism.

with Panelists:
Caitlin Johnson-Policy Matters Ohio
Zach Schiller-Policy Matters Ohio
Lucia Walinchus-Eye on Ohio
Duane Pohlman-Eye on Ohio
Yosef Getachew-Common Cause
Chris Horne – The Devil Strip

Moderated by Angela Gartner, Editor
Northeast Ohio Parent magazine

Produced and Sponsored by Society of Professional Journalists-Cleveland Chapter
Cosponsored by Common Cause-Ohio, The Devil Strip, Eye on Ohio, League of Women Voters-Greater Cleveland, Policy Matters Ohio

The 2020 Census: Confronting Facts and Impact Sunday April 5, 2020 Video Forum at 9:30am

The 2020 Census: Confronting Facts and Impact
Sunday April 5, 2020 Video Forum at 9:30am
Here is the video:

The forum link is here
The forum flyer is here

with panelists:
Simeon Best Cuyahoga County Complete Count Committee
Kate Warren, Center for Community Solutions
Daniel Ortiz, Policy Matter Ohio
Find out the on status of the 2020 U.S. Census. Ask a question. Find out how you can safely help 

Sponsored by Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cleveland, League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland and Hey, Shaker

Vintage Public Square Photos Trace Its Evolution From The Late 1700s Through The 1980s from Cleveland Scene

Vintage Public Square Photos Trace Its Evolution From The Late 1700s Through The 1980s

Vintage Public Square Photos Trace Its Evolution From The Late 1700s Through The 1980s from Cleveland Scene
March, 2021

Public Square has been the heart of the city for over 200 years. Luckily for us, we have pictures of it throughout it all. Whether it’s soldiers parading during the Civil War, construction of the Terminal Tower or a JFK and MLK Jr., these photographs capture history – the history of Cleveland and the history of America.

Click here for photos

All photos via the Cleveland Memory Project.

 

Beyond Suffrage: Women’s Reform Networks and the Road for Women’s Rights, a lecture by Einav Rabinovitch-Fox 2/27/2020 w/video

                

Beyond Suffrage: Women’s Reform Networks
and the Road for Women’s Rights
The video is here

Einav Rabinovitch-Fox, Visiting Assistant Professor, History, CWRU
Thursday February 27, 2020 at 7p.m.

Talk will be at CWRU Siegal Facility on Richmond Rd
25700 Science Park Dr Beachwood, OH 44122

This talk will explore how the local activism of women in various reform causes in Cleveland and elsewhere led to their involvement in the suffrage movement, thus situating the right to vote in a broader activist agenda to advance women’s rights and equality before and after the ratification of the 19th Amendment. This series is held in partnership with The Laura and Alvin Siegal Lifelong Learning Program Case Western Reserve University and the League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland.

Free and open to the public.
The flyer is here
RSVP here

Teaching Cleveland Digital