Cleveland Wards

Data sets the context; people tell the stories

In 2022, our fact sheets reveal the number of people in each ward who are eligible for assistance from a food pantry. It is one thing to read that number on a page; it is quite another to see lines of cars wrapped around the block at a local church telling the story of the insecurity that many of our neighbors have faced over the past 2 years. These fact sheets ground us in data and facts, spurs questions, and encourages us to listen to the stories people are telling to get a full, true picture of what is going on in our neighborhoods.

Remember that wards are not monoliths

Any Clevelander may resonate with the experience of riding through a neighborhood and feeling the environment around them change from one of relative affluence to one of abject poverty. This happens practically block by block in Cleveland. As a result, even the wards with the highest median income are also home to people who are struggling to make ends meet. That usually means that they will need to travel further to find assistance. On the flip side, even the wards with the highest poverty rates are also home to rich community assets and people who have much to offer their communities. When you remember that each number on the page of these fact sheets represents real people—neighbors in every corner of the city—who have the lived experience of looking for a job without a high school diploma, or giving birth to a premature baby, or trying to figure out virtual school without home internet access, it makes the data come to life.

Read more about on of our researchers reflections on data context.‍