Valley Leaders Unite in Defiance of NSP Decision

Leaders say the fight is far from over, head to D.C. to meet with White House Wednesday

Less than a week after receiving the news that the Valley will not receive needed stimulus funds, MVOC leaders, Congressman Tim Ryan and Mayor Jay Williams travelled to DC to meet with top White House and HUD officials to discuss the application and to demand resources for nine cities in the Valley.

“If our application for Neighborhood Stabilization Dollars missed the mark, then the bulls eye was in the wrong place,” said Congressman Tim Ryan. “At the highest levels of the White House, they felt our frustration, they understood what we are saying and they committed to come to the Valley in the near future with a commitment of real resources.”

White House Urban Affairs Director Adolfo Carrion and Special Assistant Derek Douglas met with Valley leaders for 90 minutes discussing the NSP application and the failure of HUD policies to address the needs of smaller older industrial cities.

“They committed to coming to the Valley to tour our neighborhoods and they also got the message not to come here without a check,” said MVOC Board Chair Pastor Michael Harrison. “But we don’t just want a one-time visit and some resources, we want an ongoing relationship with HUD. They need to understand what is happening in places like Youngstown and Warren,” Harrison continued.

Nearly a year ago, a thousand residents gathered at Union Baptist Church to demand that the Valley not be overlooked in upcoming stimulus dollar allocations. Top state officials including Lt. Governor Lee Fisher promised to deliver. Now community members are mobilizing in even greater numbers to demand needed federal dollars to the Valley. In just 48 hours, more than 2,500 people signed an online petition to Secretary of HUD Shaun Donovan and have joined MVOC’s campaign.

“We have to keep the pressure on,” said Pastor Michael Harrison. “It isn’t over until the dollars get here and until we change how these programs are structured so that our cities can compete fairly.”

MVOC and a broad coalition of mayors, elected officials, pastors, and neighborhood leaders continue to keep the pressure on. Community organizers have vowed to escalate the campaign until real resources reach the Valley’s hard hit neighborhoods, and have done so through organizing a press conference to address the issue, petitioning and creating an eight-point organizing strategy.

Some of the points in this strategy include: MVOC joining Ryan and Mayor Jay Williams in meeting with White House officials on January 18 to discuss federal funding for the area, solidifying a meeting with top HUD officials in Mahoning Valley this spring or earlier, lobbying on land bank reform, and mobilizing a large scale grassroots campaign.

Harrison said, “We are united across neighborhoods, cities and counties to demand the resources that this community deserves. We will get the $25 to $30 million for neighborhood revitalization for this Valley. We don’t care where it comes from, but HUD and others will come up with it. We are disappointed, but not deterred.”

Community leaders have been pushing a portfolio of issues at the federal level in the past two years including advocating for the $32 million dollar NSP application, the passing of the Community Regeneration and Sustainability and Innovation Act (CRSI), and getting HUD officials to tour the Valley to better understand the challenges that older industrial cities face.

If you would like to join MVOC’s Vacant Property Campaign or Grassroots Lobbying Team, email MVOC at info@mvorganizing.org or call at 330-743-1196. To sign the petition regarding securing NSP 2 funds, visit www.mvorganizing.org/involved/petition.

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