Weekly News from LMM

Apart Pre-Screening Airs TONIGHT

The documentary Apart features the stories of three of our Chopping for Change students, following them for several years as they journey through the LMM program and criminal justice system. What happens when they reunite with their young children after being Apart for so long?

PBS will be airing Apart on their Independent Lens series on February 21. However, you have an opportunity to view a pre-screening of the film and chat live with the filmmakers tonight at 7PM! The online screening will be followed by a panel featuring two Chopping for Change graduates, along with the producer/director and cinematographer of the film.

The online event tickets are FREE, but spots are limited. Register HERE!

LMM Supplier Diversity Efforts

LMM's Procurement & Supplier Diversity Initiative seeks to create an ongoing and affirmative procurement program that's competitive and inclusive of Minority Business Enterprises.

If you have products or services you wish to provide for consideration of an LMM contract, click below!

CONTRACTOR APPLICATION

In Case You Missed It: Local Housing News

On Monday, United Way and Legal Aid released their annual Right to Counsel Cleveland (RTC-C) report and associated microsite which shares their findings in an easy-to-understand format. The report found that the nearly two-year-old program, which provides free legal representation to extremely low-income residents with at least one child, helped 93% of clients avoided an eviction judgement or voluntary move and helped 83% percent who desired rental assistance, obtain it. Learn more at https://freeevictionhelpresults.org/

Also on Monday, Cleveland's Fair Housing Center, along with the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and 19 other local fair housing organizations throughout the country, reached a landmark $53 million agreement with Fannie Mae to resolve a case arising from allegations that Fannie Mae treated foreclosed homes in communities of color unfavorably. The settlement will help rebuild and strengthen communities of color in 39 metropolitan areas including Greater Cleveland. Learn more about the judgement here!

Spread the Love this Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and you can spread the love by giving a gift in honor of someone you care deeply about! Just click the donate button below.

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Seeing in the Fog - Lydia Bailey

Photo by Erik Drost

"The fog hung on all afternoon. In my restlessness I imagined the woods at home, the smell of the earth, of a deep ravine by a stanchion of spruce. My heart is with this shelter on Lakeside Avenue but on this particular day something was beckoning me to…what? Fog had its sway."

Click here to read Seeing in the Fog, a powerful piece reflecting on homelessness and nature, written by Men's Shelter at 2100 Lakeside Volunteer Coordiantor, Lydia Bailey. Lydia's piece was recently published in New York-based magazine Parabola's Spring 2022 issue.

Advocate for TEFAP

The Greater Cleveland Food Bank donates food to LMM’s Central Kitchen through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) allocation. Concerningly, the GCFB has seen a drop from 1.2 million pounds of TEFAP food in December to about 400,000 pounds in January. That means GCFB has to purchase more food to make up the difference – when they are already purchasing significantly more food than pre-pandemic, and at higher costs.

Now more than ever, food banks rely on these programs to help feed their communities, and you have the power to help: please, reach out to your members of Congress today and urge them to strengthen TEFAP.