FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 4, 2006
NEWS RELEASE
MOELLER STUDENTS CRUSADE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING
CINCINNATI, October 4, 2006 – Each night in our city 1300 people are without homes, according to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Surprisingly, 60% of these Cincinnatians are employed. Apartments in Over-the-Rhine average $550 a month, yet on minimum wage, a worker would need to put in 107 hours a week to afford the rent. Finding these facts unacceptable, Archbishop Moeller High School students have launched a crusade, forming a new student-led group called M.A.C.H. 1, Moeller Advocates for Community Housing. Their mission is to be advocates for the poor in Cincinnati, educating the community and inspiring others to action by providing housing opportunities in Over-the-Rhine. “A fire has been lit in the students,” says Mike Moroski, the faculty moderator. “Our group has decided to work on humanity in a face-to-face fashion and fight injustice at all costs.”
This group is well on their way, recently holding an open house to celebrate the completion of 1404 Republic Street, an apartment unit the Moeller students and community spent two years rehabilitating. Ms. Liz Shockley is now the proud tenant. “Liz has come a long way since her intial stay at the Drop Inn Center 10 years ago,” says Moroski. “When it comes down to it, Liz is the one who has accomplished something, not us. She has put her life back together, and we are just happy to be a part of that. She is really one of the most beautiful, sweetest people I have ever met.”
Not resting on their laurels, the young men have already begun rehabbing their next housing unit, which lies directly beneath the two floors they just finished. “Cincinnati has the lowest home ownership rate in the country,” says Moroski. “(People like) Ms. Liz deserve a second chance after all she has been through. It is the right thing to do. It is our duty to stand up for those who have nothing and advocate on their behalf.”
Thanks to Moeller’s generous benefactors, the students have many of the supplies they need and more-than-enough manpower each Saturday. Moroski has been leading this cause for six years and sees the students’ commitment growing. “The Moeller boys who put in all the time make it happen, particularly the M.A.C.H. 1 leaders. They have already raised awareness,” he says. “They’ve initiated their own newsletter, and there’s an unprecedented amount of interest in volunteering. The student-to-student connection is far more valuable than anything I can do.”
However, Moroski emphasizes the power of each one working together to make a difference. As John F. Kennedy once said, “Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.”
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SIDEBAR: The Over-the-Rhine Community Housing Program
The Moeller students have been working with the Over-the-Rhine Community Housing (OTRCH) program, a non-profit housing organization, formerly known as ReSTOC (Race Street Tenant Organization Cooperative). The mission of OTRCH is to ensure the availability of affordable housing in a community environment. Students involved in this project provide the necessary labor to rehabilitate an apartment to make it “tenant ready.” In addition, through the program’s customized education program, students learn about the issues surrounding poverty, community development, low income housing, homelessness, and other issues affecting the OTR area.
Picture 1: Open House Group Shot
Picture 2: Liz Shockley and Mike Moroski
Picture 3: Moeller Students and Liz Schockley Moeller students pictured
with Liz, from left: R. J. Rushing ’07, son of Rick and Joy Rushingof Cincinnati
(45213); Jon Hartman ’07, son of James and Kim Hartman of Cincinnati
(45213); Billy Yates ’08, son of Dean and Jill Yates of Fairfield; Tyler
Frankenburg ’08, son of Mark and Shelly Frankenburg of Loveland; Mike
Reeder ’08, son of Ken and Bernice Reeder of Cincinnati (45241); Chris
Damon ’08, son of David and Pamela Damon of West Chester; Joe McGinnis ’07,
son of Michael and Mary Dee McGinnis of Cincinnati (45241); and Will Tardio ’08,
son of Christopher and Sarah Tardio of Cincinnati (45241).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Mike Moroski, English Department and MACH 1 Moderator
Archbishop Moeller High School
9001 Montgomery Road
Cincinnati, OH 45242
(513) 791-1680
MMoroski@Moeller.orgMMoroski@Moeller.org