Bolton Elementary School’s annual community health fair has all the amenities you’d expect at a summer festival. In the parking lot, a DJ plays music over the loudspeaker. People are waiting in long lines at food trucks. Some kids are begging their parents to get them ice cream, while others jump around in a bouncy house.But this event in Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood — now in its fifth year — has a purpose that goes beyond warm weather frivolity.“I think that what this has become is really a...

On a Friday afternoon, kids are romping outside on the playground at Providence House, a crisis nursery in Cleveland’s Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood. A couple of kids rev their toy cars by pulling backward, as they prepare for a race. The others watch and offer advice.Providence House is a crisis nursery — one of a few nationwide that provide necessities for children and families struggling economically, mentally or physically.“A crisis nursery is not foster care,” says Ashley Stock, the director...

Arab-American populations are among the fastest-growing in the U.S., and Ohio has more than doubled its Arab-American population between 2000 and 2022. However, mainstream anti-Arab sentiment can be isolating for many young Arab-Americans.In part to combat negative stereotypes and isolation, media producer Rafa Saab and engineer Rania Khalaf co-founded ArabiKids, a subscription service that delivers children's books in Arabic to U.S. families. The company started in Boston, but Saab now runs the...

Cleveland lawmakers are seeking new ways to address the city's environmental issues after losing more than $3 million in lead remediation funds. The state is revoking $3.3 million given to the city to address lead poisoning, as part of the Ohio Department of Development’s Lead Safe Ohio Program.Though the city is making slow progress, Cleveland has some of the highest rates of lead poisoning in children. The rate dropped to a new low of 14.5% in 2025, but that’s still much higher than the nation...

It’s 10 a.m. on a Friday, and the gym inside Friendly House in Mansfield is buzzing as a dozen or so seniors laugh and follow the steps to the Electric Slide.This event is a favorite offering from the iConnect program, which seeks to reduce isolation and loneliness among people over 55.Tending to participants' needs and trying out an occasional step of her own is Deborah Wherry Bey, the program's leader.“We do technology, book clubs, we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we went to Motown,...

Inside the laundry room at Homeward Bound, a homeless shelter in Wooster, a volunteer folds the latest batch of bedding, while a washing machine spins a sudsy load."We do a lot of laundry as you can imagine. We provide all the bedding and the shower and towels and stuff like that," says Brandon Barnes, the shelter's executive director.Homeward Bound opened earlier this year and can accommodate up to 44 people at a time.Wayne County doesn't have as many homeless people as more urban counties like...