Starting in June 2010, community members from Central, Fairfax, Mt. Pleasant, and Buckeye- Woodland neighborhoods attended evening meetings once a month at Emmanuel Baptist Church and East End Neighborhood house. From June-October, Environmental Health, Environmental Justice and Health Disparity topics were discussed. On October 2, 2010, all of the communities joined together at the Neighborhood Gathering and Breakfast where community members had an opportunity to list their concerns (62 total) and vote/prioritize their top 8 issues. In November, the community told us that community and economic development was their main concern. At the December meeting, a brainstorming session was held and community members came up with projects related to community and economic development. The solutions have been sorted out into 5 main categories:
- EcoBusiness/Greenhouses
- Recycling
- Programs/Services/Communication
- Green Building
- Green Education/Training
We have had guest presenters from the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, Region 5 EPA, Community Development Corporations , Opportunity Corridor City Planners, Evergreen Cooperatives, Metro Health, Sisters of Charity, North East Ohio Sewer District, Water Pollution Control, Rid- All Growing Power Green Partnership, and Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority. In February 2011, a leadership team formed with working groups created to reduce and develop projects under the 5 topic areas. The topics will be presented to the larger community and 1 action project will be selected. We invite community members from Central, Fairfax, Mt. Pleasant, and Buckeye-Woodland to join us!
