House Bill 33 Testimonies

Executive Director Paul Fitzpatrick testified before the Ohio State Senate on May 10th and June 8th to advocate for the renewal of the Main Street Job Recovery Program.

The Main Street Job Recovery Program awarded grants to nonprofit organizations to be used in the creation of permanent employment opportunities for marginalized populations and community development. On a larger scale, this program was designed to revitalize our surrounding communities by addressing issues such as housing instability, food deserts. employment barriers, and vacant or inhabitable properties.

As a grant recipient, CleveLawn-Home was able to give second chances to three full-time and two part-time employees from our target population (justice-involved, homeless, at-risk youth, in active recovery, etc). The Main Street Job Recovery Program played a distinct role in the growth and recent success of CleveLawn-Home and could have had the same impact on other organizations.

Despite the testimonies shown below, the Main Street Job Renewal Recovery Program was denied funding in the 2024-2025 State Budget.  As a result, the economic opportunities that help lift members of our community out of poverty, remove barriers to employment, increase self-sufficiency, and decrease dependency on social services will be eliminated.

Widespread social change requires the participation and efforts of professionals amongst nonprofit, for-profit, and governmental institutions.  The Main Street Job Recovery Program is a perfect illustration of collaboration amongst sectors and the effect it can have on individual lives and communities.

To view Paul Fitzpatrick’s full testimony, click on the videos down below.