The City Club of Cleveland Podcast

Even before the effects of COVID-19 ravaged the nation, care providers and social service organizations were putting increased effort into addressing people\'s most basic needs including healthcare, food, shelter, childcare, counseling, transportation, and education. This was due, in part, to increased awareness of the reality that community conditions and social needs largely influence health outcomes.\r\n\r\nTechnology company Unite Us has created a social care platform that is being utilized by payers and providers across the United States. The company helps communities craft a unified system connecting individuals to quality services, tracking outcomes delivered across an accountable network, and ensuring equity so all communities can thrive. In Northeast Ohio, The MetroHealth System and the Cleveland Clinic have joined with Unite Us to create the Unite Ohio network.\r\n\r\nJoin us for a conversation highlighting the partnership behind the launch of the Unite Ohio network, and examining how multi-stakeholder efforts to address social determinants of health are developing both locally and nationally.

In April, four years after President Donald J. Trump began to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, President Joe Biden and his top officials are reengaging with world leaders and making aggressive commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions. As part of a two-day summit, he announced the United States will target reducing emissions by 50-52 percent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.\r\n\r\nWhile much of the responsibility for combatting the effects of climate change are being negotiated on the world stage, many of the most actionable solutions are small and local. How we live and work together in communities and cities can have a huge impact in tackling climate change, yet most are unaware of the tools at their disposal to help create meaningful change. How can the solutions be advanced to create greater racial and economic equity down to the neighborhood and household level? What can a local government, local utility, business or congregation do to bring about greater environmental and economic justice? And how are these benefits amplified when residents are engaged early and often on local policymaking?\r\n\r\nJoin us as local leaders discuss the tools available for local governments, residents, utilities, neighborhoods, and faith communities to reduce carbon pollution while simultaneously creating more racial, economic, and environmental justice.

In March of 2011, protestors took to the streets in Syria to show solidarity with the growing pro-democracy movements in Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia. Across the region, these protests sparked a domino effect of citizens taking to the streets to demand democratic reforms and greater freedoms; on a larger scale, this period became known as the Arab Spring. In Syria, however, the initial uprisings were followed by a government and military crackdown, successive resignations from Syrian government officials, human rights abuses, and an exodus of thousands of Syrian residents. This shaped the start of the Syrian Civil War.\r\n\r\nTen years after the first protests began, the brutal violence has subsided, but peace remains elusive. An estimated 593,000 people have died, more than 11 million currently need humanitarian assistance, approximately six million people are displaced within Syria, and more than million Syrian refugees have relocated across the globe. Outside of the humanitarian disaster and need for assistance, the Syrian conflict has numerous domestic actors competing for government control as well as larger geopolitical implications, as the U.S., Iran, Russia, and Turkey all have a hand at the table.\r\n\r\nJoin us for a conversation on the state of affairs in Syria, 10 years since those first uprisings, and what the ongoing instability there means for the region.

President Dwight Eisenhower established the first Law Day in 1958 to mark the nation\'s commitment to the rule of law. The 2021 Law Day theme - Advancing the Rule of Law, Now- reminds all of us that we the people share the responsibility to promote the rule of law, defend liberty, and pursue justice.\r\n\r\nNo society can thrive, or even continue to exist, without the rule of law and respect for institutions of law. The Constitution is the foundation of law in the United States, but its significance is much deeper than simply outlining America's legal structure. The Constitution is symbolic; it is both a codification of our common values and a set of ideals to continue to strive toward. It is a tool of accountability, but perhaps even more a social contract, a contract that commits Americans to the pursuit of equality, justice, and peace.\r\n\r\nPeter N. Kirsanow is a partner with the law firm of Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff, working within its Labor and Employment Practice Group. He is a Black civil rights commissioner and a member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, serving his fourth consecutive six-year term, which he was reappointed to by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer in December 2019. He is the longest-serving member among the current commission.\r\n\r\nJoin us for our annual Law Day forum, a conversation about the fundamental intersections between law and democracy. Mr Kirsanow will be introduced by Joseph N. Gross, 2020-2021 President of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and Partner with Benesch.

For years, researchers, experts, and journalists have raised alarm bells about the rising numbers of Northeast Ohio children presenting with elevated blood lead levels and lead poisoning. One study even found that the rates of lead poisoning in Ohio rivaled that of Flint, Michigan. The region\'s industrial past and aging buildings and housing stock laden with lead paint are often cited as culprits.\r\n\r\nBut there is a concerted effort underway to prevent lead poisoning and curb the \"poisoning-to-prison\" path of school struggles, juvenile crime, adult incarceration, and homelessness that many young people face. Launched in January 2019, the Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition is comprised of more than 450 members, 120 organizations, state and local governments, and families impacted by lead all working together to address the issue of lead poisoning. While from different backgrounds, they all agree that no child should ever be poisoning by lead.\r\n\r\nThe Coalition supported the passage of groundbreaking law to proactively require rental units be lead safe certified in the City of Cleveland. And last year, to complement the law, the Coalition launched the Lead Safe Home Fund, a first-of-its-kind, public-private fund to help families and landlords comply with the new Lead Safe Certification requirement.\r\n\r\nThe Lead Safe Home Fund has a target budget of $99.4 million over five years to support a Lead Safe Resource Center, train lead safe workers, and provide landlords with lead safe home loans and grants. Today, these services are open and available to the public. The Coalition has had tremendous success fundraising for the Lead Safe Home Fund but is pressing on in order to create a lead safe Cleveland.\r\n\r\nJoin us as Coalition leaders share their progress and challenges, and discuss how this lead safe model can and should be replicated in other communities.

While the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe over the last year, experts forecasted a \"parallel pandemic\" of declining mental health due to the stress, isolation, loneliness, and anxiety brought on by job loss, economic uncertainty, and work and social restrictions. For those who already suffered from mental health and substance abuse disorders, the pandemic often exacerbated their symptoms and created new barriers for treatment.\r\n\r\nMental distress during the pandemic occurred against a backdrop of high rates of mental illness and substance use that existed prior to the current crisis. A recent survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that four in 10 U.S. adults now report symptoms of anxiety or a depressive disorder, up from one in 10 adults who reported these symptoms at the same time in 2019. Another 11 percent reported having seriously considered suicide in the past month. The increase in symptoms was most striking for young people aged 18-24. In addition, in December 2020, the CDC reported that the 12-month period ending May 2020 had the highest recorded number of drug overdose deaths in the United States, more than 81,000.\r\n\r\nAt the same time, Americans, especially people of color and people with marginalized gender identities, are finding it even more difficult to access behavioral health services. President Biden, initially criticized for not including mental health services in his COVID-19 recovery plans, has included $1.5 billion for community mental health service block grants and another $1.5 billion in block grants to fund substance-use disorder prevention and treatment in the recently announced American Rescue Plan. But is it enough, especially for states like Ohio?\r\n\r\nJoin us as local experts discuss the current mental and behavioral health crisis and share new approaches to help improve the mental health of Northeast Ohio residents.

Joe Marinucci will retire from the Downtown Cleveland Alliance (DCA) at the end of April, after serving as President and CEO since its inception 16 years ago. Created in 2006, DCA manages services within a district that stretches from the Cuyahoga River to East 18th Street and includes areas in and around the Flats. The Alliance\'s most visible presence is in the form of the yellow-clad Downtown Ambassadors who walk or ride bicycles throughout the neighborhood, encouraging a cleaner and safer environment for residents, workers, and visitors.\r\n\r\nDuring Mr. Marinucci\'s tenure, Downtown Cleveland changed dramatically. The city center is now home to 20,000 new residents, wecolmed several new hotels, re-opened Public Square, and hosted the 2016 Republican National Convention, the NBA Finals and a World Series. He helped bring $7.3 billion dollars of investment to Downtown and formed the Downtown Recovery Response Fund that helps small businesses deal with the effects of last year\'s civil unrest and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.\r\n\r\nNow, as Cleveland begins to recover from the pandemic, Downtown faces both new opportunities and new challenges. Within the next 12 months, Cleveland will operate a mass vaccination clinic at the Wolstein Center, host the NFL Draft and the NBA All-Star Game, and re-open Playhouse Square. While construction continues on new apartments and housing, concerns remain about the long-term viability of some small business and restaurants, as well as the future of Downtown office space as many companies increase the number of remote workers.\r\n\r\nJoin us as Mr. Marinucci shares how the tools, resources and investments of the last 16 years can help pave the way for Downtown\'s future.

The lack of public comment at Cleveland City Council meetings has been a source of resident anger and frustration for decades. Except for a brief time in the 1920s and 1930s when the city was under a city manager form of government without an elected mayor, Cleveland City Council has not routinely held a space for public comment in its regular meetings. This is in stark contrast to other Ohio cities like Columbus, Akron and Youngstown, all of which allow residents to provide live public comment at their city council meetings. Cuyahoga County Council also permits public comment.\r\n\r\nClevelanders for Public Comment is a growing grassroots coalition comprised of dozens of organizations, elected leaders, candidates for office and residents of all 17 wards. They have conducted research, drafted an ordinance, and are urging City Council to act quickly in implementing a public comment period in 2021.\r\n\r\nThis forum will consist of a moderated conversation featuring Jessica Trivisonno, author of the proposed ordinance, and two City Council members who are in support of its adoption. Following the conversation, there will be 30 minutes of a simulated public comment session.\r\n\r\nAnyone interested in participating will have up to three minutes to make a comments about any matter that concerns the legislative, administrative, or public affairs of the city. Commenters are also encouraged to make comments on how to best invest the $541 million in stimulus funds slated to come to Cleveland from the American Rescue Plan. Individuals can sign up to make a comment by completing the Mock Public Comment Form at cle4publiccomment.com or by e-mailing cle4publiccomment@gmail.com.

Last year, the United States commemorated the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Women and men of all races, ethnicities, and identities fought for-and against-women's right to vote. The national movement that led to the women\'s right to vote is not only a story about women's rights, but is also an American story of race, class, citizenship, gender, immigration, political identity, and values.\r\n\r\nIt\'s a story that continues today. Black women are now the largest voting bloc in the United States and they had a dramatic impact on the 2020 election. All across the country, Black women worked to ensure that all eligible voters have their voices heard at the polls. In Georgia, former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is credited with dramatically increasing voter registration and voter education which lead to Georgia to flip from red to blue for only the third time since 1972.\r\n\r\nPaula J. Giddings, the Elizabeth A. Woodson 1922 Professor Emerita of Africana Studies at Smith College, is known for her writings on the complicated history of Black women in America, including Ida: A Sword Among Lions, the award-winning biography of anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells. She\'s also written extensively on the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, one of the largest Black women\'s organizations in the United States.\r\n\r\nJoin us as Giddings discusses the 19th Amendment: the political tradition of African American women, their struggle to be enfranchised, and how their activism led to the influence that Black women have on today's electorate. This is a history far too little known and one which adds depth, complexity, and richness to the quest for women's rights.

The crisis in Venezuela has been making headlines for years. As violence erupts in the streets, people without food, water, or electricity have been fleeing the country in droves. Unsustainable economic practices compounded by Nicol?s Maduro's authoritarian reign has created the perfect storm for a national catastrophe, and has inspired enormous demonstrations throughout the country, uniting people of all walks of life against the corrupt institutions that hold them down.\r\n\r\nThis ongoing humanitarian and political crisis in Venezuela was captured in the riveting documentary A La Calle, which tells the story of the Venezuelan people's attempts to reclaim their country's democracy. Over the course of filming, A La Calle captures opposition figures, grassroot activists, and every day citizens that work to uplift the voices of other Venezuelans and their fight against the Maduro regime.\r\n\r\nJoin us as those involved in the making of the film discuss the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and its implications for every day Venezuelans and global citizens.\r\n\r\nA La Calle is part of the 45th Cleveland International Film Festival. Tickets to the film can be purchased here. Use code CITYCLUB to receive a discount.