YOUR MONTHLY ACTION ALERT!

Day Labor Organizing Project

GCCH has been collaborating with the Cincinnati Interfaith Worker Center in helping day labor workers organize to improve their wages and working conditions. Light industrial day labor halls in downtown Cincinnati offer what is often the only viable source of employment for individuals who are experiencing homelessness, have a criminal record, or are unable to commit to or obtain permanent employment. Unfortunately, many of these same labor halls exploit low-income and homeless individuals need for such employment by exercising poor and sometimes illegal labor practices. Complaints from workers include: wages at or below minimum wage, lack of work breaks, unsafe or life-threatening working conditions and transportation, withholding checks, charging for transportation and safety equipment, harassment, termination without cause or explanation, lack of bathrooms, discrimination, and employer malfeasance.  Others cities have engaged in similar worker-led campaigns that have resulted in new labor laws and drastically improved conditions.

The Civil Rights Work Group in collaboration with the Worker's Center is hosting weekly meetings where temp laborers can share their stories, voice their concerns, engage their fellow workers, and strategize ways to change the practices of local labor halls. 

Meetings are every Wednesday are at 9:00am at Our Daily Bread (1730 Race Street).

The Executive Director of the Cincinnati Worker Center will be in attendance. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact Lynne at the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless at 421-7803 x11.

Check out the DLOP Day Labor Legislative Proposal (212kb pdf).

If you are interested in being on our email list to gain updated information about upcoming events, current issues, and action alerts; you may subscribe by sending and email message to: gcchnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

CIVIL RIGHTS PROJECT
GCCH is a regional site for the National Homeless Civil Rights Organizing Project (NHCROP), which seeks to document and end hate crimes against homeless people and to educate and organize individuals around their civil rights. Civil rights of particular importance to homeless individuals include the right to vote, access to education, and laws that make it illegal to be homeless. Locally, homeless and formerly homeless individuals, as well as homeless advocates, meet regularly to mobilize around current issues affecting the civil rights of homeless persons. The civil rights organizers at GCCH are available to help homeless individuals file shelter grievances, to mediate communications between shelter staff and residents, and to contact police or the proper authorities on behalf of an individual who is concerned about their rights. In its third year of the program, GCCH continues to participate in national and local conference calls and contribute to the national reports Hate, Violence and Death on Main Street U.S.A.: A report on hate crimes and violence against people experiencing homelessness and Illegal to be Homeless: The Criminalization of Homelessness in the United States, both of which are to be released in 2004. If you are interested in learning more about this subject, the reports can be accessed on NCH’s website (www.nationalhomeless.org).

Click here and "save file as" to download a copy
of the Homeless Rights Brochure
in pdf format. (file size 296 KB)

LOCAL ADVOCACY EFFORTS

• Affordable Housing: As a homeless coalition, GCCH recognizes that affordable housing is a key element in the fight to end homelessness. GCCH advocates for access to safe, affordable, and decent housing for all people in Greater Cincinnati. During 2004, the Affordable Housing Committee researched affordable housing issues and created a platform for GCCH on this issue. As a by-product of this discussion, GCCH saw a need to organize a citywide meeting of affordable housing advocates to discuss ways all of our organizations can work together to solve Cincinnati’s affordable housing crisis. This meeting led to the creation of A-HA (Affordable Housing Advocates).   GCCH continues to be involved with AHA. AHA is a group of housing providers, advocates and consumers dedicated to the goal of ensuring good, safe, accessible, affordable housing for all people in Southwest Ohio. This group formed to share the expertise and information gathered by its members over decades of service to the Greater Cincinnati community in the area of affordable housing and to initiate and support plans of action that will further the creation, retention and accessibility of affordable housing in our community.  AHA is a diverse group of advocates, spanning the grassroots, faith-based, development and planning communities.  GCCH houses the AHA Project Coordinator staff.

• Human Services Funding/ The 1.5% Coalition: For over 20 years, the City of Cincinnati has dedicated 1.5% of its General Fund to human services. This policy is governed by the Human Services Advisory Committee (HSAC), a group of dedicated volunteers who read grant applications, do site visits and evaluate each agency based on their measures of success. The agencies funded include food pantries, shelters - for individuals as well as families - and programs that assist people living with HIV/AIDS. Also funded are agencies designed to help people get employment, and agencies working with people with mental illness, addiction and disabilities. A large portion of agencies funded work with children and youth, providing after school programs, literacy programs and shelter.
  In 2004, Mayor Luken cut human services funding out of the budget completely, leaving agencies befuddled, frustrated and scrambling for additional resources. City Council restored funding back to $2.4 million dollars, roughly 0.6% of the General Fund, a full 50% cut. The human services community mobilized and asked each candidate for council if they supported funding human services. They all said they did. Then in June of 2006, in an effort led by Councilmember Crowley, there was a unanimous vote by Council to make human service funding a top priority for the 2007 budget.
  Shockingly, this did not hold true. City Manager Dahoney’s 2007 budget recommended cutting human services down to roughly $1.3 million, or 0.2-0.3% of the general fund. GCCH kept the community informed, helping turn out between 300 and 600 people to each of the public forums on the budget to demand that this funding be restored. Supporters also generated thousands of calls and emails to City Council and the Mayor. Despite this incredible display of democracy in action, five council members (Berding, Bortz, Cole, Ghiz and Monzel) recommended further cutting human services to about $800,000.
  On the other side of the fence were Councilmembers Cranley, Crowley, Tarbell, Thomas and Mayor Mallory who dug in and said that human services must be funded at at least $2.6 million, or 0.6% of the General Fund. This issue, and this issue alone, resulted in the late-night marathon budgeting sessions on December 21 and 22, ultimately resulting in a compromise where human service funding was restored to $2.6 million.
  The community of human service providers in Cincinnati is as courageous and kind as it is necessary. GCCH was proud to help in the worthy cause of helping to restore human service funding and plans to continue to be involved until all agencies are given the resources they need to end homelessness.
• Voter Registration: Individuals who are homeless are often disenfranchised due to political and legal barriers preventing them from voting. GCCH has works to ensure that the homeless individuals are able to register and vote in the November election. By meeting with the Hamilton County Board of Elections, providing registration trainings at area shelters, and sending out voter registration forms and information to member agencies, GCCH hopes to assist all individuals in voting in the upcoming election
   

Advocacy Efforts from Past Years:

• Funding Preservation
  In collaboration with the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO), GCCH was able to persuade Senator Mark Mallory to champion a bill to restore $4.7 million in Emergency Shelter Grant funding and $5.5 million in Transitional Housing funding to the state budget. Local Advocacy Efforts
• English Woods Community: As this 700-unit affordable housing development faced demolition in late 2002, the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, along with the AMOS Project (a coalition of over 40 churches) mobilized around the goals of the residents of English Woods to save their homes. After numerous meetings with the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority, City Council members, HUD representatives and others, HUD announced that it would not approve the demolition of English Woods without the approval of the residents. The Coalition is continuing to work with English Woods on community improvement grants to help them attain their goals as a neighborhood.
• Panhandling: In December of 2002, City Hall proposed the registration of panhandlers. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless spoke against this registration not only as a violation of homeless individuals’ civil rights, but also because the registration would not eradicate the need to panhandle. Working with a “Panhandling Task Force” of council members, police officers, downtown business owners and service providers, the Coalition sought an Outreach Worker who could help people out of homelessness and provide them with more stable sources of income. The panhandling registration passed on May 21, 2003 without the outreach component. In response, GCCH successfully obtained alternative funding for the position through downtown businesses. This position was quickly filled and the Outreach Worker has already assisted more than (isn’t it a higher number than this?) people in leaving the streets and moving to treatment programs, shelters and transitional and permanent housing. In May of 2004, although GCCH again spoke out against it, the registration was renewed for an additional two years. The Coalition and several city council members did stress the need to formally study the registration in order to determine whether it is effective or not. The Coalition continues to monitor the Panhandling Registration and hopes to see it overturned in the future.
• Homeless Camps: In June 2003, the city began speaking with the police and the Ohio Department of Transportation about the removal of homeless people from under area bridges. Taking our lead from Don Henry, a man who had lived under the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge for over a year, GCCH helped organize a protest of over 30 homeless people based on the theme “Don’t Hide the Homeless, Help Them.” Mr. Henry brought to light questions about the visibility of homelessness and access to services, drawing immediate media attention. A local attorney saw Mr. Henry on television and offered her services, obtaining a temporary restraining order which allowed Mr. Henry 30 days to come to a settlement with the city. Meanwhile, GCCH helped mobilize the social service community, and over 25 individuals and families received access to services. After appearing in federal court, Mr. Henry agreed to vacate the bridge (for permanent housing) in exchange for a police policy that gives homeless people who live outdoors 72 hours notice before they are removed and engages social services in assisting those people into more appropriate living conditions. GCCH is instrumental in this process and is notified by the police when the 72 hours notice is given enabling us to activate the newly formed outreach group to provide services.
  

If you would like more information about the National Homeless Civil Rights Organizing Project and GCCH’s other advocacy efforts, please contact our AmeriCorps VISTA Greg Olkhovsky at 513-421-7803 ext. 18.