The City of Cincinnati has a new office in Over-the-Rhine where residents can stop by to ask questions and get connected to resources.
The space on the corner of 13th and Main Street has been vacant since the Cincy Shirts store moved out a few years ago. City Manager Sheryl Long says the space is donated by Urban Sites, meaning it can operate at no additional cost to taxpayers.
"We have been having a lot of efforts of getting outside of City Hall [to] get down to community," Long said. "How do we reach people and make sure they know about our violence prevention work, and get resources directly to the community?"
Long says this is the first satellite office, but likely not the last.
"The hope is for us to have this as a mobile opportunity so that we can go into other neighborhoods — hopefully Avondale, hopefully Bond Hill, you name it. But we have to start somewhere."
Kait Bell, co-design and civic engagement manager in the City Manager’s Office, has been staffing the office since it opened last week. She says a few residents have already stopped by.
"There have been people who have expressed interest, for example, in mental health care," she told WVXU. "They have come in the next day to kind of talk about it, and actually have said, I'm not ready quite yet, actually, but I'm glad to know that you're here and I'll be back."
Bell says the city will keep track of the issues residents bring in and expand the resources accordingly, like job support and human services staff.
The space at 1301 Main St. is currently open Wednesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Read more:
