Advocacy

Each year, across the U.S., long-term incarceration will separate over 130,000 children from their mothers, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. In addition to this, according to the Prison Policy Initiative, 58% of all women in U.S. prisons are mothers, as are 80% of women in jails. In this blog, we highlight the impact of the Apart documentary and the life-changing work being done through LMM’s Chopping for Change (C4C) program.

In honor of Black History Month, LMM Community Engagement Coordinator Gloria Craig shares her original poem, Who I BE, along with a reflection on her time with LMM thus far. Who I BE I AM I AM I AM I am Her, Goddess of the sunlight, melanin Queen, from me streams Life, Big L I am She, The woman of yellow, red, orange, blue, green;

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, LMM Community Engagement Coordinator Gloria Craig recently facilitated the Protest History: Riots, Marches & Movements Lunch

A Place 4 Me, the Sisters of Charity Foundation and the Cuyahoga County Office of Homeless Services has partnered with Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry (LMM), young adult leaders, local funders and service providers to introduce a drop-in center where young people seeking housing stability can find respite, resources and safety.  Drop-in centers are critical elements of a systemic approach to prevent and end youth homelessness, yet

Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry is one of 140 groups to sign onto a letter opposing efforts by the General Assembly to make it more difficult to amend the state constitution. Ohio House Joint Resolution 6 (HJR6) would increase the threshold for citizen-initiated constitutional amendments from a simple majority, 50%+1, to 60% support. This would drastically limit the citizen-led amendments that advance in the state. LMM values citizen voice in all aspects

In April of 2022, LMM’s Office of Advocacy hosted the second annual Charles R. See Forum on Reentry, which honors Mr. See’s 44 years of service at LMM and his work leading the innovative and nationally recognized Community Reentry program. The program took place at the City Club of Cleveland and featured keynote speaker Ms. Susan Burton, founder of A New Way of Life and author

The November ballot includes two statewide issues for consideration by Ohio voters. Issue 1 is a constitutional amendment in Ohio that impacts how bail is decided. If passed, Issue 1 would give the General Assembly authority to set procedures related to non-monetary bail (i.e., curfews, ankle bracelets) and monetary bail (i.e., cash). Currently, this authority resides with the Ohio Supreme Court. It would also require

With the month of August underway and youth returning back to school, it’s important we take a closer look into the issue of housing instability, an issue that youth in Cleveland, and across the state, are facing, what support is being provided to them in order to succeed, and what you can do to get involved. Being able to grow and succeed inside and outside