(Continued)

 

(MS) cont: It's not as eye-catching as other issues that are getting the focus, which probably don't rank as important. From my perspective, I think that's your greatest challenge. You need to raise awareness of what literacy is and be very specific and incremental about what success would look like. Show us how we could affect it, and that will push us in a direction to help move it forward.

 

(LC): The city has a Community Development Corporation (CDC) in every ward, whose work in neighborhood improvement is often through increased safety and housing & commercial development. How do those investments stack up against the need for human capital development and could CDCs play a bigger role in building those assets?  

(MS): I like that. We [city council] have the benefit of serving the people who have given us that privilege, and we need to take care of their needs. I'm big on that; responsive service. The city is looking at revamping the CDC structure right now. We have 36 CDCs, but funding and population are going down. There are duplicated services and foundations are saying they want to see more collaboration. Every ward has unique needs, but for the universal, city-wide issues there is an opportunity right now to raise the question and shape a plan that includes the development of human social capital. I think literacy could play a role in a new CDC structure and if we move the philosophy of CDCs towards the long-term development of residents, I believe it would help control some of the social ills that cost us so much to manage.

 

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In this issue...

• A Message from Bob Paponetti
• Place Matters
• Declaration Makes a Stop in Cleveland
• SPARK Ready to Launch
• Recruitment Efforts Underway for NEO Literacy Corps