Susanna Krey isn’t just looking to take people who are homeless, give them a place to live and call that a success story. Krey wants to give these people who have experienced hardships in their lives the tools they need to become productive members of society.
“When you try to have a low-income person pursue employment, there are often barriers that prevent them from getting that income development,” says Krey, president of Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland.
“They don’t have a high school diploma or a college degree or particular experience in order to move forward in that employment area. There may be health issues.”
Continue the momentum
Education and health are two of the areas Krey and her team are looking to address in the Cleveland area to reduce the problem of homelessness in the region. You can learn more about what Krey is doing in this month’s Building Stronger Communities feature. As you’ll read, progress is being made, but much work remains to be done.
Krey hopes to continue the positive momentum by building stronger connections with the Cleveland business community.
“The goal is to think of more innovative ways to solve these issues,” Krey says. “New approaches, new ideas, more cross-sector fertilization. Perhaps something that works somewhere else, the principles of it could be applied in different situations to address poverty.”
Additional perspective is always welcome as a means of developing new solutions to further reduce a problem like homelessness.
“It’s something that impacts all of us as members of a community,” Krey says.
Spring is near
As I write this, there is still a bitter chill in the air and snow on the ground. But the trucks full of bats, balls and gloves left Progressive Field this morning and that means the Indians will soon be back in action. As a lifelong baseball fan, I couldn’t be more excited about the upcoming season.
Since we’re honoring companies that have strong corporate cultures in this month’s issue, we thought it would be a great time to ask the Indians about the steps they’ve taken to build a positive environment for the employees who aren’t out there on the playing field.
It’s clear that as strong as the team is that Terry Francona leads each day from the dugout, the group of people who take care of the fans at every game is just as committed to excellence. ●
Mark Scott is Senior Associate Editor for Smart Business Cleveland
