Covered by Documenters Janelle James and Emma Sedlak
Project Ripple: Public commenters urged Cleveland City Council to take more action to address gun violence. Leslie Jennings-Maldonado, Michelle Bell and Sharri Thomas (who goes by Ashley B.) shared their support for Project Ripple. It is a grassroots coalition working to address gun violence. They asked council members to treat gun violence as a public health crisis. Jennings-Maldonado referenced recently passed legislation that will establish a $10 million fund to address the root causes of violence. She said that is not enough.
Library working conditions: Michael Wood, of SEIU District 1199, talked about working conditions for the 350 members of his union employed by the Cleveland Public Library. He said the library system fails to keep its employees safe. He described an incident where an employee went outside to eat lunch only to be shot at when they discovered someone breaking into their car.
Youth mentorship: City Council passed legislation allowing the Community Relations Board to apply for a $2.1 million grant for youth engagement and mentorship programming. The programming will be for youth returning home from the State of Ohio Department of Youth Services system. It will include trauma-focused treatment and education.
Watch the full public comments or read transcripts edited by Documenter Gennifer Harding-Gosnell on the Public Comment CLE website created by Ohio City resident Angelo Trivisonno.
Read the Twitter thread by Documenter Emma Sedlak: