The television broadcast premiere of Brick by Brick: Solutions for a Thriving Community is the newest component from the four-person Brick by Brick team at Public Media Connect, the partnership between Cincinnati’s WCET-TV and Dayton’s “ThinkTV” WPTD-TV.
The 30-minute show debuts at 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, on Cincinnati’s Channel 48 and Dayton’s Channel 16.
Ann Thompson, former WVXU-FM news reporter and anchor, looks at data compiled about Cincinnati’s most vulnerable residents at risk for eviction by Strategies to End Homelessness. The research was funded by a $2 million, two-year grant from the city of Cincinnati.
“With a record number of people unhoused in the U.S, cities are having to get creative to prevent evictions and ultimately homelessness,” Thompson says. Strategies to End Homelessness and its area shelter partners are analyzing utility shut-off notices, SNAP (formerly food stamps) applications, previous evictions and other data “trying to find the most vulnerable, alert them before an eviction notice and offer financial assistance.”
The report is an extension of Thompson’s Aug. 7 podcast which included an interview with Strategies to End Homelessness CEO Kevin Finn, who said that once a family is identified as being at risk, social workers will receive their name, contact information, and try to help.
Finn is hoping to help 160 families a year, while admitting this is a mindset shift for nonprofits. “[Nonprofits] are normally used to waiting for somebody to come knock on our door before we considered helping them. Now, we’re going to knock on their door,” he says.
The Brick by Brick TV docuseries also features a report on Maidstone, England, the first to apply predictive data analytics to the housing crisis. Maidstone has reduced homelessness by 40% and saved money doing it, Thompson says.
The public affairs unit, created last October, also includes Cincinnati-based multimedia journalist Hernz Laguerre Jr.; Dayton-based multimedia journalist Emiko Moore; and executive producer Mark Lammers, local content director for Public Media Connect. They have been posting videos and podcasts since spring, as I noted in my April story.
Their first online stories last spring looked at new affordable housing in downtown Cincinnati; converting Downtown office towers for residential use; and possible zoning changes to increase housing opportunities. More Brick by Brick stories can be found here.
Additional Brick by Brick TV reports are expected to air in October and November, says Kellie May, WCET-TV’s communications and digital strategies director.
Brick by Brick: Solutions for a Thriving Community repeats at 1 p.m. Sunday Sept. 22 on both Channels 46 and 16.
