July 11, 2022
The Cleveland Central Promise Neighborhood is made up of a rich tapestry of individuals with passion, vision and hope for their community. The Promise Ambassador program opens doors to additional learning and opportunities for many community leaders to make change. Here are a few stories of how these Ambassadors have bolstered their community this year.
County Neighborhood Surge Program
In his 2021 State of the County address, Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish announced the launch of the county's first
Neighborhood Surge program, designed to transform the underserved and overlooked neighborhoods by focusing concentrated resources into one community at a time. Central is the first neighborhood to receive funding from the Surge.
Promise Ambassadors, along with residents, stakeholders and grassroots organizations joined together to form a Central Surge Steering Committee, which investigates and develops practices and systems that lead to more people participating in, benefiting from, and succeeding in the surge’s areas of focus.
Grassroots leaders advocated for an extensive community engagement plan, a cooperative option for broadband services, a neighborhood laundromat, a community resource center, and a food cooperative. The steering committee is working with partners and county representatives to establish accountability and advocate for sustainable, ongoing investment in Central.
East 39th Street Garden: Therapy, Art & Healing
In 2021, art therapy and gardening were used to address mental health issues affecting Central stakeholders during the pandemic. Two public art exhibits: Hands Across Central and Becoming Unmasked were created and displayed at the East 39th Street garden, overseen by
Promise Ambassador Andrea Johnson. In the years since COVID's onset, Andrea and her crew engaged an intergenerational group of over 50 residents, professionals, and donors for ongoing reflection on mental health issues and their vision for Central.
Group members designed and embellished hand word art panels and two-sided masks displaying themes of love, hope and perseverance against the backdrop of violence and despair in the Central community. The masks and panels, along with a collage of the artists who created them, are now on display at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center.
Community Review Team at SOCF Cleveland
Former Promise team member Joe Black, now health equity officer at Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland, set out to establish the first-ever Community Review Team at SOCF to review grant applications and inform the decision-making process. Three Promise ambassadors,
Walter Patton,
Gwen Garth and
Carol Malone were invited to review Good Samaritan applications and provide feedback to help SOCF’s board make more informed funding decisions.
The team reads and ranks applications and submits recommendations to the Fast Response Team, a small board committee, who make a final decision. Community Review Team members develop experience in sharing presentations, reviewing grants—and in turn, understanding different and better ways to write applications—and collaborating with leaders and strategic thinkers from across greater Cleveland. For the board, the Community Review Team provided significant insight on how to prioritize the needs of Central and which organizations are doing work that the community values.
Ghetto Therapy
Central experiences higher rates of gun violence than most communities within greater Cleveland, and lifelong residents
Walter Patton and
Cassandra Gordon are providing a place for healing in Ghetto Therapy. Ghetto Therapy allows attendees to talk about how living among poverty and violence has impacted residents mentally and emotionally with neighbors who understand those experiences. Every individual who has attended a Ghetto Therapy session leaves feeling a little bit lighter. Walt and Cassandra’s are leaders looking to influence a new generation to heal from systemic trauma and create a new future in Central.
Men and Women of Central
Men and Women of Central, a grassroots organization focused on building relationships and community strength, recently launched its new strategic plan, which focuses on serving the whole family, connecting families to resources, programs, and information that would benefit everyone.
Launched by Promise Ambassador
Jerome Baker, and now led by Promise Ambassador
Charmaine Jordan, MWOC has a new vision to foster a healthy community by connecting residents to resources that will improve their lives. The mission is to empower the Central community by facilitating programs through community partnerships and collaborations.
We invite all interested to learn more about the programs and work of Men and Women of Central. Email MWOC954@gmail.com with questions.
Ambassador Leadership in Program Evaluation
During 2021, SOCF conducted an external evaluation of the Promise Ambassador Program. This evaluation was designed to better understand the growth of neighborhood leadership and social capital and how Ambassadors have been impacted by the program since it began ten years ago.
A core team of Ambassadors participated in all aspects of project design and implementation, including shaping a community-led definition of social capital to guide the project, designing surveys and focus group questions, and participating in data analysis sessions. The core team worked with staff and the evaluators to synthesize the project’s findings into four recommendations to shape the future of the Ambassador program. Implementation of these recommendations continues in 2022.
The evaluation revealed that the program should continue to draw upon the richness of its staff, the Ambassadors and resident leaders, partners and the historical roots of and resources in the Central neighborhood.
As one Ambassador put it:
“Just to hear about how redlining affected Cleveland, on the Central community, and just hearing about the food deserts and just hearing about mental health, finding out the median income and things like that. It's just, you know, it's alarming as a leader to be knowledgeable of that, but also understanding that within our role of leadership, how we can impact and make that change in our community.”