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Liaison updates 3/18/2021

Neighbors, Partners and Friends:

Here are my updates for March 18, 2021.

  • Covid 19 Opportunity Clinics: Attached is a flyer for the upcoming CPH Opportunity Clinic on Wednesday, March 24th.  Please share this with your networks or individuals living in our priority zip codes of 43203, 43204, 43205, 43206, 43207, 43211, 43219, 43222, 43223, 43224, 43227, 43229, 43232.  Registration for this clinic opens March 18th .  To register for an appointment, email health@columbus.gov
  • South Side Roundtable March 24: Our next virtual Community Roundtable will feature the topic of safety. We will be joined by our Community Liaison Officers and will have special presentations from our Comprehensive Neighborhood Safety Strategy team.  Join us at – Weds. Mar 24, 5:30 p.m.  Join from the meeting link: https://cocmeetings.webex.com/cocmeetings/j.php?MTID=m11d5df5ba4d4ae7fccc6cc2441e8bc56  OR Join by meeting number
    • Meeting number (access code): 160 611 6723, Meeting password: mC4FDt4paC2 
    • Join from a mobile device  1-650-479-3207 Access Code: 1606116723##
  • South Side Thrive: South Side Thrive will host its next All Network Forum on Thursday, March 25 from 10:00 – 11:30 am via Zoom! Community partners and stakeholders are encouraged to join – please share with your network! Register here for the Zoom link.  Attached is the 2020 partner impact report.
  • Free Wifi: The Smart Columbus team of community partners will test ways to make in-home internet access more affordable and reliable for everyone in Columbus, starting with the South Side.
    • We are looking for up to 300 volunteers to try in-home internet service for a year. For this program, we’re looking for participants who: Have children or family members who are completing distance learning of any kind in the home, and For South Side residents, between Southwood Ave. and Hosack St., and between High St. and Ann St. If you are eligible and would like to participate, please submit your interest here, and you will receive your next steps from the Cbus WiFi team: https://cbuswifi.com/
    • If you want to know more before signing up or cannot use or access the form, the Cbus WiFi team will be at the Reeb Avenue Center starting March 29th through early April to answer questions or sign you and your family up, as long as spots in the program are available. Please call or text 614-245-2847 ahead to schedule a time to visit.
  • Solicitation Code Amendments: Attached is a FAQ and the proposed amendments. City Council held a hearing on March 10, 2021 where an amendment to the city ordinance on soliciting was heard.  Many of the people who testified were in support of increasing penalties against sex buyers because of the harmful impact they have on the lives of people stuck in the cycle of prostitution. and you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-azwHpaLCtE
  • Do you care about trees?: We are excited to share that the Urban Forestry Master Plan draft is now available for your review! Deadline for public comment is Weds. March 31. Columbus Recreation and Parks Department’s new Urban Forestry Master Plan is the first citywide, strategic plan to invest long-term in Columbus’ trees. Over the next decades, the Urban Forestry Master Plan will serve as a blueprint for revitalizing our urban forest and strategically investing in neighborhoods where trees will do the most good.  The link to provide comment is: https://www.columbusufmp.org/get-involved.html
  • Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program: Due to the continued COVID-19 pandemic, we will be delivering $50 produce boxes to eligible SFMNP participants accepted into the program throughout Summer 2021. The produce boxes are in place of the customary $50 worth of coupons that are eligible for use at area farmer’s markets and roadside stands. Produce boxes will be delivered on a first come, first served basis.  Sign up here: https://www.lifecarealliance.org/programs/meals-on-wheels/farmers-market/
  • Safe Sleep Ambassador Training: There are upcoming dates in April May and June. All trainings are still being held virtually. Contact Jill Guinan at jeguinan@columbus.gov
  • Columbus City Schools: Registration for the Summer Experience and information about the return for grades 6-12 blended learning are available here: https://www.ccsoh.us/
  • Jazz Arts Group Struggle for Freedom: Columbus Jazz Orchestra Artistic Director Byron Stripling will lead a top-flight rhythm section and singers, as well as a conversation with Michelle Alexander, the award-winning New York Times opinion writer and author of the best-selling “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.”  The FREE event (and available online until March 31) is presented by PNC Arts Alive and the Jazz Arts Group. To view online: https://www.jag.tv/events/struggleforfreedom

Thank you all and have a great week!