At the 2018 State of the Schools address, the first audience question came from a student at the Newton D. Baker School of Arts who asked "What are the district's plan for our children who are homeless? What progress is being made to help these families?"
In his answer, Cleveland Metropolitan School (CMSD) District CEO Eric S. Gordon indicated that, at any given time, five percent of CMSD students are experiencing homelessness. It's indicative of a larger problem, an overall increase in family homelessness — most often comprised of single mothers and their children — due to the lack of affordable housing and high eviction rates.
Several initiatives are underway to keep families intact and create more opportunities for stable housing. How are they working? What more still needs to be done?
Simona Lynch
Street Voices, Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless
Abigail Staudt
Managing Attorney, The Legal Aid Society of Greater Cleveland
Rich Trickel
CEO, The City Mission
Marcia Zashin, Ph.D.
Director, Project ACT, Cleveland Metropolitan School District
Justin Glanville
reporter/producer, ideastream
Dan Moulthrop
CEO, The City Club of Cleveland
