Cleveland Black Health Advocates Have Ideas For Use Of Stimulus Money

The Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition wants to use money from the latest federal stimulus plan to address health disparities in the local Black community.
 
African Americans have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, so the organization's director Yvonka Hall would like to see Cleveland and other government organizations use the money to change that.

"We need to be willing to use our dollars to help change the lives of people who are disproportionately impacted by the social determinants of health,” Hall said.

Cleveland is expected to get $541 million from the “American Rescue Plan,” but hasn’t yet released plans for how it will use the money.

Akron will receive about $153 million, and the city released plans on Thursday for how it will focus spending on housing, public utility support, and youth violence prevention, among other projects.

“We are looking carefully at how we spend this money equitably in a way that benefits everyone, especially focusing on those hardest hit by the pandemic,” Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan said in the release.
 
Hall sent the 54-page  African American Rescue Plan to Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and members of the city council, where the organization outlines specific plans to improve education, access to technology, and health care.

The organization included thoughts from community members in the report, including plans to remediate lead in houses, provide health care in schools, and increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour.