In March 2023 the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) emergency allotments were cut, impacting the Ohio households that depended on those funds to feed themselves and their families. Much ink has been rightfully spilled on this impending issue of hunger and food insecurity in Ohio. Data gathered by Community Solutions may add meaningful insights to...
Author: Alex Dorman (Alex Dorman)
Cleveland’s proposed menthol ban: adding barriers to smoking will work
Depending on who you ask, anywhere from about one in four to one in three Clevelanders are smokers. This ranks Cleveland as one of the unhealthiest cities in the United States by percentage of residents who smoke. For context, theoretically, you are more likely to randomly meet a Clevelander who smokes than you are to...
Racism is a public health crisis: white radicalization and the lie of meritocracy
One of the more recent tragedies of white male radicalization was the terrorist attack in a Buffalo supermarket earlier this summer, in which a young man who looks like me sought to destroy the lives of as many Black people as possible. No one demanded to know what *I* think of white male rage, violence,...
Exploring the Digital Divide in Ohio
Ohioans are becoming more connected than ever before. According to the newly released American Community Survey 2020 5-year estimates, 84.9% of Ohio households (4,003,564 households) are connected to the internet. The majority (84.5%; 3,988,413 households) of these connections are high speed broadband connections, such as cable, fiber optic, cellular data, or satellite services, however, a...
Data without context can be dangerous
Our updated City of Cleveland Ward fact sheets provides local leaders, elected officials, and community members with additional tools to inform their decision making. While this is very exciting, we feel it is also important to take a moment to reflect on what this information is, and most importantly what it is not, and to...
Exploring the Justice Gap: the barriers Northeast Ohio residents face in the legal system
During 2020 and 2021, The Center for Community Solutions collaborated with Legal Aid Society of Cleveland to examine legal and other needs in five counties in Northeast Ohio. An integral piece of this assessment was surveying nearly 500 residents across the region. Residents across Cuyahoga, Lorain, Ashtabula, Geauga, and Lake Counties provided crucial information about...
Exploring the Thrifty Food Plan: A SNAP Shopping Experiment
The United States Department of Agriculture released the Thrifty Food Plan in 1975, as one of four plans that estimate the cost of a healthy diet. The four plans – Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, Liberal, and Thrifty – provide guidelines for the type and amount of food, measured in pounds per week, that an individual should eat with slightly different recommendations dependent on an individual’s age...
The New Cleveland Neighborhood Fact Sheets are Here; Initial Thoughts and Takeaways
Cleveland is a city of neighborhoods. These neighborhoods have unique histories, strong cultures, and distinct characteristics. The Center for Community Solutions is proud to once again release our Neighborhood Fact Sheets, which provide important information for each one of Cleveland’s 34 neighborhoods. Almost all of the data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent...