In the Ward 8 community we find almost on every street empty houses. Many of these houses have been stripped of its piping, siding and other items leaving eyesores. Other houses are boarded up and slowly deteriorating. The national home foreclosure crisis actually hit Cleveland and Ward 8 years before other areas of the nation were scarred by it. The loss of these houses has created vacant lands that have become problems through non-use.  I support a process that allows for unused land to be secured and re-used by the community. Only then can we improve the value of our homes and improve the safety of our citizens. Today, many homeowners face the struggles of keeping their homes during difficult economic times. We must assist these homeowners who are trying to avoid foreclosures by working with financial institutions, along with federal government resources, to avoid more home losses. We must take preventative actions including providing more information and education to homeowners and remove those companies that prey on them.

In addition to the foreclosure problem, we must realize the need to maintain our homes that remain occupied. Rehabilitation of our housing is critical to the stability of our community. Houses in the Ward 8 neighborhoods are over 50 years old and older. My home was built in 1919. It is important to prioritize the preservation of our community homes.

I also understand that there are senior citizens who have lived in their individual homes most of their lives but now want to reduce their expenses that come with homeownership. They should have the option of remaining in the community but moving to less expensive housing. Senior apartment buildings have been built to allow continued independence and safety for our seniors. More are needed. When seniors choose to move to apartments or condominiums in our community they open up wonderful houses for younger family members or other individuals and their families.

We want to assist our senior citizens to remain in their homes if they want to, and we should also create less expensive but safe housing choices here in Ward 8. We should not ignore while planning new housing for seniors that younger people and their families may not be able to afford buying a new home and will also need rental housing choices. We must rehabilitate existing apartment buildings and rental homes to provide them quality choices for their housing needs in Ward 8.

Finally, vacant land throughout our community should be used to benefit our residents. I support the use of vacant land for new housing development, for extension to existing homes, playground development, and for community gardens and other green space usage. Each vacant lot must be reviewed with residents of a street with the lot to determine its best use for a particular street.