海角破解版

The nonprofit Cleveland Tenants Organization formed more than 40 years ago to help renters in the city resolve disputes with landlords.

This week, the group announced that it will shut down. Money isn鈥檛 coming in like it used to, and the board of directors no longer saw a way forward.

Board president Cheri Smith said the CTO leaves its offices March 5. The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland .

Smith said one major funding source, which she declined to name, changed the way it gave out money. CTO was no longer on the priority list, she said, and less money was coming in from local government contracts.

The CTO reported receiving $444,207 in grants, gifts and contributions in 2011, according to public tax filings. Smith said the budget last year was $180,000. 

Smith talked with ideastream this week at the CTO鈥檚 headquarters in Slavic Village.

On Cleveland Tenants Organization鈥檚 dwindling revenue

鈥淚t鈥檚 been significant, and we鈥檙e not the only nonprofit that鈥檚 feeling that pinch. It鈥檚 been going that way for a while. Just, we lost some significant funding contracts, we lost some significant funding grants over the last several years. So we were looking for other ways to, you know, kind of fill that gap, and we weren鈥檛 able to come up with those ways.鈥�

On whether funders wanted to support specific programs rather than general operations

鈥淎bsolutely our experience. We received funding for specific programs, rental eviction, rental information, lead programming, but those are all programs. Nowhere did we have overhead expenses covered. We don鈥檛 have individual contracts that say, 鈥楪o ahead and run your day-to-day, but also do the programs.鈥� And that took a big toll on what we did get in.鈥�

On the difficulty of fundraising

鈥淭here are plenty of good organizations that need your dollars, and we are one of those organizations鈥�When we were in the midst of the foreclosure crisis, people were talking about housing, and housing instability, and safe housing for folks. They鈥檙e not talking like that anymore. Now we鈥檙e focused on lead. Which is great, and we need to be focused on lead. But that鈥檚 a very labor-intensive program to administer鈥�it鈥檚 a bit difficult to spread those dollars around.鈥�

On the sorts of calls the CTO received from tenants

鈥淲e have renters calling us because landlords won鈥檛 make repairs, or they鈥檝e withheld their security deposit. Kind of everyday things. And we鈥檙e talking about low- and moderate-income folks who don鈥檛 have the ability to withstand a landlord holding back their security deposit, or not repairing their washer and dryer, or even having running water in some instances. They often feel like they have no other resource, or no opportunity to be heard, and how do they get the landlord to respond to them? CTO was that lifeline for them.鈥�

On whether there鈥檚 enough affordable housing in Cleveland that鈥檚 safe from environmental hazards like lead or mold

鈥淢y personal opinion? No, there鈥檚 not. There are plenty of homes out there, vacant, abandoned, run down, dilapidated, pick your adjective, they鈥檙e out there. But there is a shortage of affordable, sustainable, healthy housing for individuals in the low- and moderate-income brackets. It鈥檚 absolutely a, dare I say, crisis for the city.鈥�