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Facts
Children in the States 2001, a comprehensive state-by-state
review of children and families, published by the Children’s
Defense Fund, measure each states poverty levels while
determining how well each state protects their children. The
State of Ohio constantly ranks in the bottom 50% of the
rankings. Ohio ranks 28th in the number of poor under the age
of 18, with 454,561 or16.0% of the population with the
majority of these children living in the urban areas.
Demographic Study
The Village Grace Mission Center reaches into Southeast
Cuyahoga County and more specifically, the Southeastern
portion of Cleveland proper. The target community is the
neighborhood of South Broadway or Slavic Village. It is
bordered on the south by Garfield Heights, the west by
Interstate 77 and Newburgh Heights, the north by LTV Steel
and Union Avenue and the east by the Conrail tracks and
Broadway Avenue.
The combined population of this area is approximately 29,810.
The area had its biggest population in 1920, almost 78,378,
and has been in a downward spiral ever since. The last census
period is expected to show growth due to the efforts of the
Slavic Village Development Corporation and new building
programs, such as the 83 unit development of Mill Creek and
the single family houses being built on vacant lots in the
area. There are approximately 10,000 housing units, half of
which are owner occupied. The housing value of the owner
occupied housing averages $32,451. There are 140 units with a
value of less than $15,000 but only 5 with a value of
$100,000 or more. Of those residents over the age of 25, 33%
have attended high school but did not graduate, 38.5% are
high school graduates, 12.85% have some college, 4% are
college graduates, and 12% only have an elementary education.
Almost 53% of the households have an income of less than
$20,000 with 40% less than $15,000. Of these numbers 80% are
the “working poor.” The median household income of South
Broadway is $18,885. By contrast, in 1990 the average family
income in Wooster was $32,801, Norton $37,299, Medina $38,069
and Macedonia $48,132.
The area has a very diverse cultural background. The 1990
census reported: 1,993 African-Americans, 27,341 Whites, 98
American Indians, 55 Asians, 770 Hispanics and 323 Other
Races. The nationality study showed 40% Polish, 12% German,
17% Eastern European (Russian, Slovak, Ukrainian,
Yugoslavian), 10% Italian, 8% Africa-American and 13% other
nationalities. In the last 10 years this area has experienced
the flight of its citizens to the suburbs and other states.
The racial make-up of this area on the 2000 census now
reflects the rest of the city of Cleveland – 47% White, 46%
Black, 4.7% Hispanic, .9% Asian, .3% American Indian and 1.1%
Other Races.
This area has
become very transient. The residents that have been a
cornerstone of the neighborhood are now elderly and moving
out of their homes. The younger people are renting the homes
and not staying in the area a very long time. Our target
audience started out to be adults between the ages of 20-44.
The number of adults in this category total about 11,000.
This is nearly 50% of the population. We had to change our
thinking about the needs of the community and shift our focus
to include the youth of the area. When you consider that
another 5,500 are less than twenty years old, our target
increases to over 16,500 people.
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