Author: ocpjohio

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Affordable Housing, Homelessness Blog

OXFORD HOMELESS NETWORK

by Ann Fuehrer, facilitator@ocpjohio.org

On May 1, 2022, three members of the Board of Directors of Oxford Citizens for Peace and Justice made a presentation as part of a public conversation on Affordable Housing in Oxford. We were invited by the Eradicating Systemic Poverty Committee of the Oxford Presbyterian Church, sponsors of the event, to talk about our vision and plans to address the basic subsistence needs of some of the most vulnerable members of our Community, individuals and families who, at night, are sleeping in their cars, camped out under tarps in honeysuckle thickets, or couch surfing.

We believe it is a moral commitment to community accountability that resources should be available to meet the basic subsistence needs of all members of the Talawanda School District and Oxford communities. But in calendar year 2021, about 10% of the 422 families served by Talawanda Oxford Pantry and Social Services had no permanent residence. Between March 1, 2021 and February 28, 2022, the Family Resource Center (FRC) provided wrap-around services to 79 individuals who were homeless, and provided referrals to another 22 homeless individuals who did not qualify for FRC’s other services Some community members do not believe that there are people who are homeless in Oxford–they don’t observe street people panhandling. But the Oxford Police Department knows better–they routinely ask people who are encamped on private property to move, or arrest individuals who are trespassing on private property in hopes of finding a warm place to sleep. The FRC cold shelter, which operated at 106% of capacity from November of 2020 through March of 2021, belies the myth of a fully housed Oxford.

We perceive a Field of Horrors instead of a Field of Dreams in Oxford. The implicit message we’ve received from the lack of political will to honor Article 25 of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that everyone’s subsistence needs should be met, suggests “If we don’t build it (a shelter for people who are homeless), they won’t come (we won’t attract people who are transient and looking for a meal and a place to sleep, and not finding it in other towns).” The theme of the May 1 event hosted by the Eradicating Systemic Poverty Committee was ““Housing on the Continuum: Homelessness, transitional housing, and affordable housing in the Oxford community”. At the public visioning session to receive input about Oxford’s proposed comprehensive plan, Oxford Tomorrow, held at Oxford Bible Fellowship on the evening of April 18, 2022, public concern about the shortage of affordable housing for residents at all income levels was named and included in a number of City initiatives. However, the continuum of affordability did not reach down to individuals who are only able to afford to squat in empty sheds, or locate their tents along the railroad tracks that separate the Oxford Country Club from the Miami Mobile Home Park. In its February, 2021 “Oxford, Ohio Housing Needs Assessment” report, the Bowen National Research group estimated that approximately .3%, or 67 individuals, in Oxford are homeless. The Family Resource Center’s service statistics from 2021 show that this is a significant underestimation of the need in our community. Recent evictions from apartments and mobile homes that are affordable, but only because the majority (54.0%) of renter households are considered “housing cost burdened” (paying over 30% of income towards housing costs), will increase the number of individuals and families who will be forced to rely on friend and kinship systems for shelter. The majority of people who work in Oxford can’t afford, or choose not, to live in the City.

In February of 2021, friends and members of OCPJ donated $14,000 to the Family Resource Center so that their cold shelter could remain open an extra month, and so that clients of the Center could have some of their housing costs supported during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, We’ve heard the suggestion that some people are living “rough” rather than going to shelters in other cities because they choose to do so–that is freedom of choice. But when faced with a dilemma–remain close to family and a job but have to camp out in a tent, or have access to a warm shelter with a shower but not to be able to interact with family members who live 20 minutes away from the shelter in Hamilton–individuals must struggle to decide which is the lesser of two evils. Local situations require local solutions. We are committed to supporting the good work that is being done by local social service agencies and City initiatives, while also recognizing the dangers faced by a small but significant number of our neighbors who have no good choices that will lead to the stability and dignity that housing in a familiar community, close to job and family, offers.

Homelessness and the dangers of living on the streets are problems everywhere, and have only been exacerbated by the pandemic. Cities that successfully address the situations of the most vulnerable members of their communities have clear goals, are not ambivalent in their perspective on the existence and illegitimacy of homelessness, devote bureaucratic resources to providing wrap-around services and housing options–the labor involved in connecting with and supporting individuals in need must be honored and compensated–and acknowledge community accountability for all, especially those who are vulnerable because of the challenges faced by those born into life in poverty. “If you want peace, work for justice.”–Pope Paul VI. “They” are already here. “They” are our neighbors who work in the service industries and are not paid a living wage. Many complain about the extent to which the housing market in Oxford is influenced by Miami University’s housing policies, and the extent to which maximizing profit influences owners of rental units to let their stock remain vacant if not rented to affluent students, instead of making apartments and houses available to the unhoused. Justice is not being served by these decisions.

We are moving forward to hear and center the stories and experiences of those who are constantly traveling from one temporary shelter to another. We are proposing ways of redistributing resources to meet the unmet needs of ALL of our neighbors. Join us in our development of a homeless network, to work in solidarity with those who don’t choose the honeysuckle thicket, but see no other option, and those who are already doing the good work of justice, of providing housing for ALL.

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Blog Climate & Environment

MORE TREES, LESS CEMENT

was one of our most popular stickers at our Earth Fest display on April 16.  A photo of our table of trifold presentations, buttons, stickers, postcards and videos was featured prominently in the story “Earth Fest returns to Oxford” by Bob Ratterman in the April 24 issue of the Oxford Press—thank you Bob!  In that story, OCPJ’s Board President Barbara Ann Caruso was quoted as saying, “Environmental issues are interconnected with justice.”  Barb pointed out that challenges to environmental integrity adversely affect disadvantaged people and people of color.  New EPA guidelines recognize this, and use maps showing heat islands where inequities in access to healthy environments are highlighted.  US 27 north (College Corner Pike) in Oxford appears on every social vulnerability map—that’s where people of color and those who earn low incomes live.  The City of Oxford will be planting 52 trees, purchased with a Tree Canopy Restoration Grant from the state of Ohio, in areas with a high Social Vulnerability Index (.5065 in the northwest quadrant of the City, along College Corner Pike, in comparison to .2962 in the rest of the City).  Noted in our display, “Oxford has an established history of concern, care and maintenance of the urban forest, as evidenced by the community qualifying for the National Arbor Foundation’s Tree City USA status for 25 consecutive years.”

The situation in Oxford is not entirely positive.  A popular postcard in our Earth Fest display emphasized the importance that OCPJ puts on systemic dynamics in understanding which members of our community are most challenged by the severe shortage of affordable housing in Oxford.  Stressors related to existing in poverty, and associated mental health and addiction challenges, become clear when intersectional analyses of access to resources in the community, promoted by frameworks like Critical Race Theory, are adopted.  At the second public input session for the “Oxford Tomorrow” comprehensive plan, held on April 18, there was no mention of the need to address the particular situations of people who live close to the Earth, camping out in honeysuckle thickets or along the railroad tracks in the Miami Mobile Home Park.  Housing is a basic human right, and there is no justice as long as a significant percentage of the members of our community can only afford to park their bedroom (car) in a mother-in-law’s driveway, and use her bathroom and kitchen to meet basic subsistence needs.  In February of 2021, friends of OCPJ contributed $14,000 to the Family Resource Center to help keep their cold shelter in operation for an additional month.  On May 1, 2022, members of the OCPJ Board will participate in a public conversation, “Housing on a continuum”, which is being hosted by the Eradicating Systemic Poverty Committee of the Oxford Presbyterian Church—we will be promoting formation of an Oxford Homeless Network that works in coalition to support the good work that is being done currently, and to fill in the gaps where resources do not exist.

OCPJ is able to be a voice in the Community for peace and justice because of the financial support, and dedication of time and energy, by active members.  We sent out a call for new members and renewals in early January of this year—we have yet to hear back from many of you.  Please return your membership form and check to the Center for Peace and Justice, 16 S. Campus Ave, Oxford, OH.  45056, or go to our website, ocpjohio.org, where you will find the membership form and instructions about how to donate to support our work.  The PayPal option is available.  We need you to help determine the areas related to justice that OCPJ will pursue.  And you need OCPJ to be that vocal voice for Peace and Justice in the community.  Feel free to contact us at facilitator@ocpjohio.org to let us know about the injustices you see and experience, and how you would like to be involved.

Categories
Blog Climate & Environment

“Oxford Tomorrow: Environmental Justice”

The City of Oxford is in the process of developing a new comprehensive plan that will help shape future growth and change in the community for years to come. The City is calling that plan OXFORD TOMORROW. According to the website for the plan, “Oxford is already a unique and exciting place to be. We welcome all residents to participate in the planning process and contribute ideas on how to make Oxford even better. “

One way to make Oxford even better is to recognize that principles of environmental justice demand that we lessen disparities in access to healthy environments, like green spaces. In a May 17-24, 2021 article in The Nation , writer Amal Ahmed suggests that “Today the phrase ‘environmental justice’ is common parlance among environmentalists and climate activists, who understand that poor communities and communities of color across the globe will disproportionately bear the effects of climate change.” If we look at a map of the green spaces in Oxford, we see that the majority of the green spaces are located on the East side of the City, adjacent to the campus of Miami University. There are wonderful walking trails that run through these green spaces. This stands in stark contrast to the relative absence of green spaces along the College Corner Pike corridor that is the main thoroughfare in and out of Oxford in a northwest direction. Along the Pike, small businesses are interspersed with a mobile home park, a subsidized housing apartment complex, and moderately-priced rental units.

In 2022, the City of Oxford will plant about 50, two-inch in diameter trees along its streets after receiving funding from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Urban Canopy Restoration Grant in late November. of 2021. According to David Treleaven, Oxford’s Environmental Specialist, all 50 trees will be planted along roads in the northwest portion of the city, specifically College Corner Pike, Northridge Drive, Brown Road, and Fieldcrest Avenue, where the Social Vulnerability score is considered high. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Social Vulnerability measurement was developed as a means to allocate resources to different communities. Several factors, including socioeconomic status, household composition and housing conditions can affect a community’s access to clean natural resources like air and water. Treleaven adds, “This grant incorporated an environmental justice component and with that, there is a Social Vulnerability Index and that works into the economics and environment of an area.”  Oxford’s Urban Forestry Program is an example of a local initiative that is informed by principles of environmental justice. We commend the City for planning and execution of initiatives that reflect principles of justice.  

Want to learn more about principles of environmental justice? How about Heat islands–urbanized areas that experience higher temperatures than outlying areas. Structures such as buildings, roads, and other infrastructure absorb and re-emit the sun’s heat more than natural landscapes such as forests and water bodies. Urban areas, where these structures are highly concentrated and greenery is limited, become “islands” of higher temperatures relative to outlying areas. Or The Social Vulnerability Index–calculated by the Centers for Disease Control, the higher the SVI of a census area, the more social vulnerability in that area, meaning that area may need more resources to thrive.

What other disparities in access to resources exist in Oxford? One of the issues that is most clearly addressed in the initial conversations about Oxford Tomorrow is the need for more affordable housing in Oxford. For 79 of the hundreds of households served by the Family Resource Center in 2021, affordable housing meant a car, a tent, a friend’s couch or shed, or a tarp in a honeysuckle thicket. In Oxford Tomorrow, what resources will be dedicated to meeting the survival needs of the most vulnerable members of our community?

The next Public Input session for Oxford Tomorrow is on Monday, April 18 from 6:00-7:30 pm at Oxford Bible Fellowship, located at 800 S. Maple St. Make sure you visit the Oxford Tomorrow website to register to attend on Monday night. Before then, visit the Oxford Citizens for Peace and Justice table at Earth Fest. Earth Fest, celebrating Earth Day, will be held on Saturday, April 16, from 10:00 am-1:00 pm in Oxford’s Uptown Park. We will have lots more information for you, and more ideas about issues of justice that need to be addressed in Oxford’s comprehensive plan. Remember, our mission is to educate and act locally to recruit and organize a citizens’ movement with the sustained political power to construct a world of peace with social, economic, and environmental justice. Providing input to Oxford Tomorrow is an excellent way for you to be a part of this movement. Make sure you are ready to speak justice to power in making your contribution to Oxford Tomorrow. See you on Saturday in Oxford Memorial Park.

Categories
Blog Global dynamics

“What?  So what?  Now what?”

March 17, 2022

Ann Fuehrer, Facilitator

Our mission is to educate and act locally to recruit and organize a citizens’ movement with the sustained political power to construct a world of peace with social, economic, and environmental justice. Our geographic home is Oxford, Ohio.

On February 24, 2022, Russia began an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.  President Biden had, before that date, warned that attack was imminent.  Wanton destruction of cities and killing of military personnel and civilians have continued for three weeks now.  About 3 million people have fled their homeland, while President Zelenskyy’s administration has remained in Kyiv, rallying and supporting volunteers and members of the military who have resisted the Russian military’s invasion.

I am challenged by information overload from constant CNN and NPR reporting on the war.  When I listen to friends and colleagues, they want to have a clearer understanding of what is happening, and guidance about how they can most forcefully respond. To provide education and to catalyze a citizen’s movement, OCPJ has chosen two tactics that have been staples of our toolkit for many years, and which will undoubtedly be repeated far into the future–injustices are regularly perpetrated.  And, in this time of manufactured untruths and “fake data”, we must seek trusted expertise to bring clarity.  In this time of violent suppression, we must rally publicly in protest.

On March 10, 80 Miami students and community members gathered in Oxford Memorial Park to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine, including members of our own community.  Angela Trubceac and Liza Skryzhevska, residents of the local community whose homelands are Moldova and Ukraine, shared with the group the plight of their relatives there.  Poetry by Lyuba Yakimchuk and music by DakhaBrakha set the tone of requiem for those suffering death.  Members of the crowd expressed their own outrage, fear and grief, and committed internally to action.

On March 13, Miami University Professor Emeritus of History Robert Thurston made a 25-minute presentation to 18 participants.  Bob, a longtime supporter of OCPJ, clearly laid out the long history of political, religious and cultural dynamics in the relationships among Putin, The Soviet Union, Russia and Ukraine.  A question and answer period helped clarify the implications of eight centuries of events, but most notably the likely consequences of the recent invasion and genocide.  Participants were given a list of resources compiled by OCPJ supporter Carole Katz to facilitate future individual actions.

OCPJ sponsored the public gathering in the park because members of the community asked for it.  We organized the “What?  So what? Now what?” program to provide education to catalyze a citizen’s movement for justice.  We will continue to sponsor events in this vein.  Our next planned “What?  So what?  Now what?” program will be held on Thursday, April 14 at 7:00 pm, virtually, on the topic “Oxford Tomorrow:  Comprehensive planning for our future as a just community”.  We are prepared to sponsor public gatherings (protests or vigils) and informed conversations to educate in service of supporting citizens’ movements for justice, whenever the need arises.

Categories
Blog Participatory Democracy

Vote to halt rising threat to progress

October, 2014

by OCPJ Member Roland Duerksen

Integral to liberty and the pursuit of happiness are the concepts of democracy and fairness. On election day we’ll have the opportunity to assert these values in the face of a serious threat.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer, a major effort in the struggle of the 1960s for civil rights and racial equality. That struggle occurred about 100 years after the Civil War had freed the slaves of the American South but had failed to provide social and political freedom for them as African American citizens.

Shamefully, this Jim Crow servitude continued, with only occasional challenges, for those 100 years. Then the nonviolent civil rights struggle accomplished what the Civil War had not been able to accomplish: granting to the former slaves and their progeny the freedom to obtain rights that had been denied them.

The success of that movement has become evident during these past 50 years. All about us we see aspects of the decrease in racism and the increase in equality. But evidences that these advances are far from complete are also all about us – as prominent news items of recent weeks clearly attest. It is obvious that much remains to be accomplished. At the 100th anniversary of Freedom Summer, Americans should be able to say that the dark shadow cast by slavery has finally disappeared. 

But it is not going to be an unbroken, gradual progression. There are indications of a new Jim Crow mentality in many places. There has been for some decades a rising threat to all of the progress that has been made – an endangerment to not only minorities but to all of us. The rapidly and enormously widening gap between rich and poor could soon swamp us all.

This is not something that is coming about by the natural operation of the market and economy. The operations of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the Koch brothers and their followers give evidence of conscious, concerted efforts to widen the gap – as they also seek to turn back the clock on voting rights and the progress of social concerns generally. Their design appears to be to carry us back to the Middle Ages, to oligarchic feudalism. Then wealth would be in charge, 99 percent of us would do its bidding, and democracy would be a thing of the past.

It appears that Congress has lost the ability, if not even the will, to stand in the way of this monolith. Indeed, the immediate concern is not the next 50 years but a certain day early next month: the general election on November 4. It is not hard to tell which party stands with ALEC, the Koch brothers and that crowd. Truly concerned, insightful citizens will vote to call the Republican party to task and to choose a better way for the country. If we don’t stop the widening gap now, we are likely to regret it 50 years from now – or sooner.

 

Categories
Blog Community Building Racial Justice

Welcome, Freedom Summer Conference folks!

October 2014. Though Oxford Citizens for Peace and Justice (OCPJ) wasn’t around in 1964 during the Mississippi Summer Project, a number of our current and former members were around and/or very much involved.  For example, the stories of Rick Momeyer and Jane Strippel are included in the book Finding Freedom: Memorializing the Voices of Freedom Summer, edited by Jacqueline Johnson.  Our Bloom Peace Education Fund is named after Mel and Rosie Bloom, who were key players in the Friends of the Mississippi Summer Project  that originated in Oxford. Roland Duersken, who worked with organizers and in a Freedom School in Mississippi, recently donated his personal collection of writings and photos to the Freedom Summer Archives at Miami University and spoke on a panel with other donors to the collection about his experiences at a reception last Friday evening.  These items are currently on exhibit in King Library on the Miami Oxford campus.

OCPJ members have also been involved in the planning and realization of the conferences commemorating and celebrating anniversaries of Freedom Summer over the years, as well as the 50th Anniversary Conference taking place over the next few days.  They are also part of plenary sessions and panels.  Fighting against injustice is part of our personal, and collective, DNA.

This year we were proud to be involved in hosting representatives from the Highlander Center in New Market, TN last February to raise awareness both of Highlander’s role in Freedom Summer and its current campaigns on human rights and environmental justice under the theme “The Unfinished Business of Freedom Summer.”

We also donated audio and VHS tapes from our archives to Miami University.  These included tapes of the Freedom Singers in 1964, and from a 1989 program called “Alternative Visions of Racial Justice: Upon the 25th Anniversary of the Mississippi Summer Project.”  These include “Mississippi Summer Project Revisited,” an address given by Dick Gregory.

You can find out more about us at our conference display table, and from our Take Back Democracy brochure and flier included in registration packets and on information tables.