Source: The Plain Dealer
On May 20, 1999, The Plain Dealer reported that a dozen Muslim, Christian, and Jewish clergy, representing about 1.2 million Northeast Ohioans, met at a Cleveland mosque on May 19th to discuss how they can more effectively deal with the growing numbers of poor people who are seeking their aid. An interfaith coalition has formed around this issue due to the recent experiences of many religious communities in attempting to help those whose public assistance benefits have run out. Welfare caseloads in Ohio are at their lowest levels since 1970 and cash assistance has decreased 60 percent since March 1992. Rabbi Elliot Kleinman, a regional director of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, stated the goals of the new coalition: "We want social policy that is created not just out of a sense of political effectiveness, but also out of a moral sense of what is right. We want to insure everyone is cared for and nobody is left out."