Central Neighborhood
The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland is committed to reducing disparities in health and education in the Central Neighborhood near downtown Cleveland. Residents of this community, like so many in our region, experience poor outcomes in education and health which make it much harder for residents to move out of poverty. The Foundation is working on developing a "Promise Neighborhood" in Central, that works to improve children's success in school and the community in general.
The Foundation selected the Central Neighborhood because of the commitment of
St. Vincent Charity Hospital in providing health care and outreach in this community for more than 140 years. On this smaller geographic scale – Central is home to about 12,000 adults and children – we hope to cultivate a collaborative effort, and pilot some innovative strategies, to address gaps in health and education.
In 2006, the Foundation began an extensive process to discover the health and education priorities of the neighborhood from the perspective of those who know it best – the residents and providers who live, work and play in Central. Guided by a special committee of the Board, the Foundation first commissioned research by Cleveland State University and the Center for Community Solutions to better understand the demographic, health and educational intricacies of the neighborhood.
The Foundation’s early research and community engagement made it increasingly clear that the ability to make lasting and meaningful change in the Central Neighborhood rests with its residents. Having met informally with key stakeholders and provider organizations, the Foundation designed a process to create dialog with residents of Central and to continue the discussions with provider organizations in a more formalized way. Beginning in the summer of 2008, this process, called Conversation: Central, put the Foundation face-to-face with residents and providers in Central to learn of their understanding of the most pressing health and education needs in their neighborhood.
In 2008, the Foundation sought community input from stakeholders in the Central Neighborhood on where to center its attention and support for reducing health and education disparities. A report, Conversation: Central was produced.
Full Report
More on Cleveland’s Central Neighborhood
The boundaries of the Central Neighborhood, located in Ward 5, lie between East 22nd Street to the West; Woodland to Grand avenues to the East; Euclid Avenue to the North; and East 70th Street to Woodland Cemetery to the South.
Various waves of immigrants, Italian, Hungarian and others moved into Central. During the Great Migration after WWII, African Americans relocating from the South also populated Central. But overcrowding and slum-like conditions led Cleveland leaders to demolish tenement housing and erect new public housing in Central, the first in the nation. The neighborhood now contains more than 4,000 public housing units.
Today, more than 90% of the community is African American. Forty percent of the population is under the age of 17 – 62% is under the age of 29. About 10% of Central residents are 65 or older.