On behalf of the partners of the Youth Drop-In Center (YDIC) project, including A Place 4 Me, the REACH Youth Action Board, the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland and Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry (LMM), we are pleased to inform you that on February 6th, the City of Cleveland Board of Zoning Appeals approved our request for a special variance to site the YDIC at 4100 Franklin Boulevard!

Thank you to everyone who was able to join us last week to celebrate Founder's Day in honor of the life & legacy of Rev. Richard Sering and the history of LMM. We were happy to be joined by staff, board and community partners as we reflected on LMM's work over the years and discussed what is to come for the agency.

Didn't get the chance to attend Founder's Day? Click the button below to watch the recording!

Snag some LMM swag, in celebration of Founder’s Day! Check out our Special Edition Pop-Up Store during the month of February.

In honor of Rev. Richard Sering, the vendor will donate 1% of sales to LMM, for all purchases made this month. Please place your orders by February 28, when the vendor will begin to make your made-to-order merch! The full LMM Store will launch early this Spring.

Following the Hough Uprising of 1966, LMM’s founder, Rev. Richard E. Sering, traveled from St. Louis to Cleveland to work alongside local community activists and religious leaders to take action in addressing racial tension and civil unrest in the area, eventually resulting in the birth of Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry in 1969.

Click the button below to read more about LMM's history, and an MLK Day Lunch & Learn LMM's Office of Advocacy hosted earlier this year, in the first edition of our Black History Month blog series.

Charles R. See (Former Director of LMM's Community Reentry Program) shaking hands with Harllel Jones (Founding Member of LMM)

C4C Students Jasmine and Monika

Photo by cleveland.com

"I’m working on myself here so I can be a better me out there."

Click the button 'Read More' below to learn more about Chopping for Change students Jasmine and Monika's stories and their experiences in the C4C program in a recent cleveland.com interview.

Want to support the life-changing work of Chopping for Change and Metro45? Click here.

On January 6, 2023, Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 458, Ohio’s first photo ID voting requirement, which will mandate voters to show photo identification when voting in person, early, or on Election Day. 

This bill will also exclude county-issued veterans’ identification from the list of acceptable IDs one can use to vote, making it more difficult for veterans to vote. Click the button below to learn more.