Part One
By their very definition and character, cities are constantly in flux, changing to meet specific needs and attempting to accommodate large, shifting, social forces. Inevitably, change in tight urban spaces bring disagreement. That principle is on display right now over the proposed relocation of the City Gospel Mission.
The mission was founded in 1924 by James N. Gamble to serve homeless and hurting men and women through providing meals, shelter, recovery programs and chapel services. The mission started out on Vine Street, but since 1943 has been located at 1419 Elm Street in Over the Rhine. In the past several decades, aggressive leadership has been developed in array of programs for men, women and children putting a strain on the facilities. The mission is now prepared to renovate and move to a larger facility, an empty building on Dalton Street in Queensgate just North of the main Post Office. That proposal, however, has brought opposition from a number of business owners in the area who contend that the mission is an inappropriate use of the area.
I am joined this morning by Sherman Bradely, the Vice President of the City of Gospel Mission. A native of Cincinnati, Sherman is an ordained minister. He is the founder and director of "Consider the Poor" and city Gospel Development Company. He is a certified trainer for the "Bridges out of Poverty" program and conducts "Framework For Understanding Poverty" workshops. I was hoping to also be joined by a representative of the business group that has raised objection to this move. In the end, they declined to appear on the program, but have provided a statement that will work into the conversation this morning.
Part Two
Next Sunday is Father's Day, and opportunity for individual families to gather and celebrate the role that their father's play in the lives of their children. It is also a good time to reflect on the state of fatherhood and families in our society. According to the United States Census, in 2007 approximately 13.7 million single parents head families in the US. These parents care for 21.8 million children, 26% of all of America's children. 84% of the single custodial parents are women.
Although many single parent households raise strong and healthy children, statistics also show that children who grip up without a father in the household are at dramatically higher risk for drug and alcohol abuse, emotional distress, teen pregnancy and criminal behavior. That's why Talbert House has undertook an initiative in 2009, the fatherhood celebration. This year it takes place, appropriately, next Sunday, on Father's Day, June 19th, at Sawyer Point on the Cincinnati Riverfront.
To talk about the fatherhood celebration, I am joined this morning by Harold Howard, the program manager for the Fatherhood Celebrations. And John I. Silverman, a former chair of the Board of Trustees at Talbert House and the managing partner of Midland Atlantic, a real estate brokerage and developer.
