Season Two Solutions

Brick by Brick discovered dozens of solutions in Season 2, that are working to solve a variety of problems. After many iterations, Cincinnati engineers created the perfect speed hump. The city has data showing traffic calming devices are slowing drivers down.  Meals on Wheels of Southwest Ohio and NKY is preparing to open a new headquarters that will more than double the annual meal production for seniors. People Working Cooperatively is  improving air quality through a pilot program. One homeowner says she is heathier and less stressed. We look back on these solutions and more.

Interview guests: Cecily Foster, nurse and gardener; Sharon Hawkins, founder and director of The Dayton Doula Initiative; Earl Crossland, architect and co-founder of Tiny Homes for Humanity; Jeff Demaree, teacher Cincinnati Public Schools; Dr. James Greenberg, co-founder Cradle Cincinnati; Amaha Sellassie, board president Gem City Market; Michael Beck chief production officer Meals on Wheels of Southwest Ohio and NKY; and Rosa Baker, food policy council manager Green Umbrella.

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Transcript

Ann Thompson:

Brick by Brick met dozens of inspiring people this past season who continue to move forward despite bumps in the road, like a teacher and his students trying to improve pedestrian safety in school zones.

Jeff Demaree:

In a couple months, Ann, my students are going to go to City Hall and I've actually warned members of Cincinnati City Council that when we come back, it's going to be with a video camera.

Ann Thompson:

Besides requesting money for billboards, the students are producing a documentary they hope will go nationwide. Meanwhile, the concept of tiny homes is growing in Southwest Ohio.

Earl Crossland:

Now that we've proposed this first tiny home community, other churches and other property owners have approached us and said, "Hey, when you're done with this one, will you do another one?"

Ann Thompson:

Architect Earl Crossland talks about a growing number of churches willing to help homeless veterans. With infant mortality still a problem, doulas are playing an increasingly important role. There are updates to this Dayton program we told you about earlier in the season, including a storytelling event.

Sharon Hawkins:

There were tears because there were stories that were shared that people related to like, "Oh my God, that happened to me too."

Ann Thompson:

This is our look back, look ahead episode where we check in on the progress of some of our favorite stories. There are quite a few updates, so let's get into them. This is Brick by Brick, solutions for a thriving community.

Ame Clase:

Brick by Brick is made possible thanks to leading support from Greater Cincinnati Foundation, AES Foundation and George and Margaret McLane Foundation, with additional major support from Laurie    Johnston, The Robert & Adelle Schiff Family Foundation, Murray and Agnes Seasongood Good Government Foundation and more. Thank you

Ann Thompson:

Hello and welcome to Brick by Brick, where we're highlighting solutions for a thriving community in Southwest Ohio. I'm your host, Ann Thompson, along with team members, Emiko Moore. 

Emiko Moore:

Hello

Ann Thompson:

And Hernz Laguerre Jr.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

Hey, everyone.

Ann Thompson:

And we're on the set of our TV program. This is our 22nd podcast episode of season number two, a season where we focused on possible solutions to housing, health, and the environment. And throughout the year, we often wondered what happened to a particular program or person. It was kind of hard to narrow down which updates to do, wasn't it?

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

No, yeah, definitely was difficult because we had like 12 broadcast episodes. We had a whole bunch of podcast episodes. It was hard to just pick a few just to review.

Emiko Moore:

Righ,t so many amazing stories.

Ann Thompson:

And so we did pick eight of our most memorable topics and followed up. Think of this episode as a look back and then near the end of the pod, a look ahead to next season. So let's get started. Food insecurity continues to be a problem. According to the federal government, one in seven households don't have enough to eat and some families don't even know where their next meal is coming from. It's such an important issue that we covered it in two episodes. Discovering that in 2022, nearly seven million seniors were food insecure, making this story from Hernz essential.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

Yeah. And according to Meals on Wheels of Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky, chief production officer, Michael Beck, the need continues to grow.

 Michael Beck:

Our senior population is growing and hitting record numbers and there's less youth and people that can support them. Families are more spread out, one in four seniors live alone and they just don't have the infrastructure that may have existed 20, 30 years ago to support them as they age in place.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

To meet this need, Meals on Wheels is expanding. The last time we checked with them in the fall of 2025, they just broke ground on their new headquarters at the old Ford dealership in Columbia Township. That will be their new hub that will help double their output. They'll go from producing 1.2 million meals a year to three million meals a year.

 Michael Beck:

It allows us to get bigger and do bigger volumes and serve more people. It makes us more efficient, which will help goodness knows inflation and costs going up.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

The inflation and cost going up is something that's affecting everyone, including grocery stores. In episode one of season two, we featured two grocery stores. One of them was Gem City Market. President of the Gem City Market Board, Amaha Sellassie, said federal cuts have hurt their operations.

Amaha Sellassie:

We're like 35, maybe 40% of our shoppers are EBT shoppers, you know what I mean? And with the big, beautiful bill, some of those resources were cut, you know what I mean? And that's impacting people and produce perks. That program is kind of questionable off and on a little bit and so that's been hindering us as well. So that percentage of people using EBT is higher than average. So we're meeting the people that we wanted to increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables the most, but at the same time it's like they're the ones that are suffering the most when the federal government makes these type of cuts.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

And the impacts of those cuts, the economy can be seen just a block away from Gem City. The Senior Resource Connection Center that provides Meals on Wheels and other services for older adults has announced that it'll be closing in the coming months, citing COVID-19 pandemic and workforce retention as other reasons why they're making this tough decision. I asked Maha his thoughts on the announcement.

Amaha Sellassie:

Even just bring that up, I'm literally holding back tears right now because the backbone of any community is like compassion and empathy and support for vulnerable communities. And to hear that that program is even the least bit at risk, just like tore my soul apart.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

For the time being, the Senior Research Connection Center has systems in place to continue to provide meals for the next couple of months. In addition to that, Michael Beck told me that the Meals on Wheels in Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky reached out to share their resources and Amaha said Gem City is ready to support as much as they can. The other grocery store we featured in episode one, Meiser Fresh Grocery and Deli in Lower Price Hill unexpectedly closed their operations completely in the spring of 2026. We were informed by store managers that the board, Your Store of the Queen City, decided to end operations due to financial strain and income and stability. We tried to reach out to the board for a direct comment, but weren't able to reach them. We spoke with Food Policy Council Manager, Rosa E. Baker. She is with the nonprofit organization Green Umbrella and oversees areas like Lower Price Hill.

Similar to Dayton, she said different organizations like Community Matters and Last Mile Food Rescue have stepped in to try to fill in the gap.

Rosa Baker:

Meisers was established there I think five years ago because it was already designated a food desert and so access we knew was already an issue and it was really seeking to help solve that and create that critical point. So it's a real shame that it's lost. I think right now there are a lot of wonderful community agencies working to fill that gap, but we're just kind of back where we started unfortunately.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

Rosa told me she is hopeful because of the grassroot efforts that are relentlessly fighting the food insecurity battle. She also highlighted the Cincinnati Human Services Fund Impact Award Grant, which is focusing on neighborhoods including Lower Price Hill. They have a program that will create a network of food resource hubs and urban farms in high risk neighborhoods in an effort to reduce gun violence. We'll keep an eye on that as we go into season three.

Ann Thompson:

Well, I'm glad that she's optimistic, but your stories just drive home the point that there are no easy solutions and just so many people are suffering from food insecurity.

Emiko Moore:

That's right. And I'd like to see more of these urban farms develop that might be another solution that could help.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

For sure. Yeah. And honestly, I like how Rosa also pointed to the fact that these things all connect together, right? You have issues of crime and gun violence in certain areas because they lack resources. So the fact that organizations in Cincinnati are working to provide food and resources in order to curb gun violence and other negative things, I think that's a positive result.

Ann Thompson:

Well, let me just throw one more thing out there. There's a pilot program you can read about at cetconnect.org or thinktv.org, and it's helping one neighborhood with food insecurity in a partnership between Kroger and Winton Hills. Well, growing food in your own backyard is certainly a solution and one woman is doing it quite well. Emiko?

Emiko Moore:

Yes, she is. You may recall Cicily Foster, a nurse and mother of three who lives in the Twin Towers neighborhood in Dayton. Last year, she built a backyard garden with the help of Mission of Mary Cooperative. Growing vegetables in her garden has changed her family's eating habits and cut her grocery bills in half. We wanted to see how her efforts this season are coming along. Well, Foster says her garden has quadrupled in size with at least 30 more plants and she has a growing interest in medicinal herbs, fruits, and native plants.

Cicily Foster:

I've even just fallen in love with what people would consider weeds because I'm convinced society has told us that weeds are bad for us when actually is God's medicine all around us.

Emiko Moore:

Foster continues to offset rising grocery costs with her garden.

Cicily Foster:

Our fruit bill will completely decrease because fruit is expensive and we are going to go crazy once all these fruit is producing and I like green juices. I have a juicer, so I love making my green juices and it just saves me a lot. I've even just went and picked some dandelion leaves when I'm like, "I don't have any green. I got some fruit. I need some green." Went outside in front and got plenty of dandelion leaves and added them to my juice.

Emiko Moore:

And she sees the difference it is making for her children, especially her youngest daughter.

Cicily Foster:

If I'm picking something, she just wants to pick it and eat it. So I'm absolutely looking at her like, "If I do it, you do it. " It's like if I have a cookie, she wants to cook you too, but if I am eating from the garden, she wants to taste it all. So it's also awesome just to see how her health is going to change over the years since she's so invested and I got her into it when she was so young.

Ann Thompson:

I love that story. I think that's great.

Emiko Moore:

And it really showcases how parents, if you model good behavior, your children are likely to pick that up.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

For sure. Yeah. I think you got to lead by example, right? The only way her children are going to eat healthy is if she shows that she can eat healthy too.

Ann Thompson:

Even picking dandelions to add to her drink.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

Yeah.

Ann Thompson:

Well, changing gears now, we got some disturbing news from Cradle Cincinnati that infant mortality, a stat that it has tried so hard to lower, has gone up and especially among Black babies. At a May News conference, we learned Hamilton County's overall infant mortality rate jumped from five and a half deaths per 1000 live births in 2023 to 9.3 in 2025. More disturbingly is the infant mortality rate for black infants. It more than doubled over the past two years from nine deaths to 21 per 1000 live births. Why is this? Dr. Jim Greenberg co-founded Cradle Cincinnati.

Dr. James Greenberg:

Support for maternity leaves of support, various kinds of social service or safety net services have been really kind of frayed around the edges, if you will, over the last few years. Why that is particularly impactful in Hamilton County is not clear, but we're going to figure it out.

Ann Thompson:

And Cradle Cincinnati is taking steps to try to reverse the trend. Here's one of them, QV Corner or Queens Village Corner. At the Ambrose and Bobby Stern Health Centers in Cincinnati, patients can connect with a part-time Queens Village navigator and get the resources they need. At the UC Center for Women's Health, a QV staff member is embedded with the clinical team full-time. This liaison meets with all first-time Black OB patients after their appointments, typically in a exam room, allowing women to speak more openly about things like difficulty paying rent or utilities so the navigator can identify resources. This pilot is going so well, Greenberg says he wants to expand it.

Dr. James Greenberg:

And we would really like to spread that to Good Samaritan Hospital as well. Between Good Samaritan Hospital and University of Cincinnati Medical Center, 80% of black women deliver.

Ann Thompson:

He wasn't able to give a timetable of when that might be. However, Dr. Greenberg and others are committed to decreasing infant mortality. Doulas are proven to help and Emiko, let's revisit your story and any updates.

Emiko Moore:

Sure. Sharon Hawkins is the founder and director of The Dayton Doula Initiative, a community-based program designed to address high rates of maternal and infant mortality among black women in the Dayton, Ohio area. As you may recall, participants receive scholarships for the eight-month doula program, which includes business training. Three cohorts have already graduated and the doula services they provide cover both childbirth and postpartum support up to one year after birth. In 2024, Medicaid coverage for doulas was passed making it accessible to all women in Ohio. This spring, the University of Dayton's Women's Center supported a storytelling event where lore storytelling coaches help doulas and mothers come together to be able to share their birth stories.

Sharon Hawkins:

I think it's important because it gives women a chance in the space to have a voice and to have a voice empowers you.

Emiko Moore:

The public health of Dayton and Montgomery County is organizing a regional doula symposium on September 17th and 18th at the Central State West campus to bring doulas from all over the region. And some more exciting news, Sharon Hawkins was recently honored as a community gem in the Dayton Daily News and because of this, some women reached out to her to join an upcoming cohort. Hawkins said she never expected to be recognized but is glad the program is getting recognition.

Sharon Hawkins:

Can't even imagine what's going to happen to the future generations of babies that are being born in love and support and moms that are being supported. I think it's going to change the generation. It's going to change the way that we have these children relating because they're going to feel wanted.

Emiko Moore:

Hawkins is putting together the next cohort for this fall, which is usually around 10 participants. But with a grant from the Physicians Charitable Foundation, they will be able to increase it to 14 to 18 participants and give advanced training to those who've already participated.

Ann Thompson:

Lots of good news on that front. I like the storytelling event.

Emiko Moore:

Yes. It sounds like a lot of these mothers really found a lot of commonality in their stories.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

Yeah.

Ann Thompson:

Coming up on Brick by Brick, an effort at Western Hills High School to improve safety in school zones now includes two other schools.

Jeff Demaree:

There's no magic silver bullet to cure this. The actually create change is going to take a patchwork quilt of different initiatives.

Ann Thompson:

Plus an update on tiny homes that's ahead on Brick by Brick.

Ame Clase:

Brick by Brick is made possible thanks to the generous support of so many, including Diane and Dave Moccia, P & G, The Camden Foundation,  The Stephen H. Wilder Foundation, TJ and Susie Ackermann, Patti and Fred Heldman, a donation in memory of Frank and Margaret Linhardt, and more. Thank you. We couldn't do this work without you.

Mark Lammers:

We're covering a lot of ground on this episode, but that's because there's a lot going on in our cities and neighborhoods and we need to track progress. Hi, I'm Mark Lammers, executive producer of Brick by Brick. Whether you only listen to our podcast, watch on television over the air or through the PBS app or choose to go deeper with our online articles, you know this initiative is all about clarifying the problems we face locally while shining a light on viable solutions and we intend to keep delivering on that commitment. As we wrap out our second season of Brick by Brick, we're looking ahead to September when we'll be coming back with new stories, updates on solutions underway and more conversations with thought leaders and solutionaries. To help us in this effort, we're asking just one thing. Click on the link in the show notes for this episode to fill out a short survey about your experience with the show.

It should only take a few minutes and really helps us keep this thing going. So show your support of this effort today by clicking that link and using your voice. You can even do it while you're listening to the team wrap up season two, which I'll get you back to now. Thanks.

Ann Thompson:

Welcome back to Brick by Brick. Here's an update on what Cincinnati is doing to increase pedestrian safety. After perfecting the size and angle of speed humps in 2025, it plans to make 35 more improvements, including curb extensions, speed cushions, and more in nine neighborhoods this year. Even one of the most dangerous intersections in Madisonville, Madison and Anderson Place, Hernz where you and I crossed the street or at least attempted to. Yeah.

Neighborhood transportation chair Kerry Devery says the city will install a raised crosswalk in a pair of rectangular rapid flashing beacons. Based on data, the traffic calming strategy is working. On average, there was a 48% decrease citywide in the percent of drivers speeding. You can see the information on our website, cetconnect.org and thinktv.org. In that same episode last October, we told you about a group of Western Hills High School students who were on a mission to make school crossing zones safer after a student was killed. They still want to create change locally but also want to help other schools nationwide according to teacher Jeff Demeree.

Jeff Demaree:

If we made a documentary about our work and what exactly we've done, we would be able to share it with grade schools, other high schools, so that other students can learn how to keep themselves safe as well. So that's the step we're working on now, trying to be educators ourselves to be able to share the work that we've done with other schools.

Ann Thompson:

They're creating this documentary with other area schools.

Jeff Demaree:

No one living in Cincinnati has seen the Western Hills Mustangs and the Elder Panthers ever do anything other than fight on the football field. So the fact that we're now a CPS school and a large local parochial school and a school outside of our district like Lakota are starting to join forces, hopefully will get people's attention and bring further a concentrated effort to improve the situation.

Ann Thompson:

Christina Alcorn is part of this effort. Her son Aspen Runnels was hit and killed by a car while a freshman at Lakota in 2024. Western Hills High School students testified to help pass Aspen's law, which makes it an automatic felony when a driver hits a pedestrian in an active school zone. West High students have also been asked to testify in proposed House Bill 714, which strengthens pedestrian protections. Driving Home the Importance is a study that found 70% of drivers at three other schools as reported by WVXU, Woodward, Withrow, and Dater High Schools exceeded the 20 mile an hour speed limit. Just this month, Cincinnati Council talked about more traffic calming measures and possibly traffic cameras.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

Yeah, I think that that's definitely necessary because like we spoke about already during this episode, I think you just need to make measures just to force people to drive slower or at least hold them accountable because man, from people just not obeying traffic laws or just being on their phones while they're driving, it makes it scary for pedestrians trying to cross the street or even walk on the sidewalk.

Emiko Moore:

And the data really supports it because if you've seen a 48% decrease, that's huge. That makes a difference.

Ann Thompson:

Yeah. So we'll be following this effort for sure. Well, tiny homes are taking off in 2024. There were about 10,000 in the US. What's happening here? Brick by brick has reported on a number of different efforts. Hearns, what's the latest?

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

Yeah. Tiny homes is one of those efforts that could have a huge impact with many communities. The last time we touched this topic, we featured Vista Village, the Tiny Homes community in Columbus, Ohio that has 41 tiny homes. They're currently working on phase two, which will include 60 single family tiny homes. Down here in Cincinnati, another developer, Tiny Homes for Humanity, is looking to build a tiny home community of their own for veterans in the Madisonville neighborhood, but they're waiting for approval from the community council.

Earl Crossland:

The Madisonville Community Council has given unanimous approval to support the project and also we need a zone change for the land and they've also given unanimous approval to support that zone change, which is basically going from the standard to a plan development process.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

The organization is also on track with their funding goal of more than $2 million with the recent pledges they've collected, many of which came from other Methodist churches.

Earl Crossland:

We're optimistic that when people hear about it, when they hear the statistics about the need and they see that other people are joining in, we're very optimistic that this is actually going to be a real project and have some real impact for veterans.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

Earl even pointed to our own program, Brick by Brick, to say that we're part of the reason why a lot of folks are getting more awareness. The more he does these interviews, the more he just puts the word out there. Everybody wants to see how they can help veterans get back on their feet and find housing.

Ann Thompson:

I'm glad that he is finally getting traction because early on he was meeting with a whole bunch of people, people from the city, people from The Port. So I'm glad that there is something in the works.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

Yeah.

Emiko Moore:

It'll be exciting to see how this comes along.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

And you know what this kind of reminded me of, Emiko, your story with the faith-based housing. So many churches have a lot of land, a lot of property where that's not doing anything, that's just collecting dust in a sense. But what they're doing is proving that, hey, they can partner with churches, use that land for people that need it.

Emiko Moore:

And it's such a good partnership because you've got a church based or faith-based communities which often really want to give services and help a lot of other people. So it's a win-win in many ways.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

For sure.

Ann Thompson:

Well, I'm thinking back to the toxic homes episode and people working cooperatively is a Cincinnati nonprofit that provides critical home repairs for eligible residents. When we went to a Mount Auburn home this winter, the organization was also removing mold as part of a pilot project. That homeowner tells People Working Cooperatively she feels better now that the mold is gone from her basement and it has lifted her stress so that's good news. And PwC says it is continuing this pilot program with a small amount of flexible funding.

Emiko Moore:

Oh, it just goes to show how much your home affects not only your physical environment but your mental health as well.

Ann Thompson:

Yeah. And with that, we're looking ahead to season three. What are some topics that you guys are interested in reporting on?

Emiko Moore:

For me, we just recently attended a sustainability summit. So waste reduction and waste management is really big on my mind. And one of the things that I find fascinating is textiles. Our clothing is such a huge waste. It's I think the number two biggest waste producer after plastics. And in the US, over 17 million tons of textile waste is generated per year. So that really affects pollution, greenhouse gases and a lot of depletion. I'm also looking into a mega CDC program, which is a comprehensive cradle to career service program that we can look into. And I think also mental health is still a big issue and in particular men's mental health, which is still a silent issue that we may want to look into.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

For sure. The textile one, I never really thought about waste within clothing. I haven't seen much reporting about that too, so I think it'll be interesting for us to dive into that. And in regards to the mental health piece, there's a mental health gym in Detroit where it's almost imagine you're going to a place to work out, but it's really just for your mind in order to get yourself to think better, to process things better.

Ann Thompson:

In the right space.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

In the right space. Yeah. So if we do the mental health episode, I think we can maybe feature that in some way.

Emiko Moore:

Right. And that really helps get rid of a lot of the stigma that still there's residual stigma here about those things. So I'm glad to see that there's something like that.

Ann Thompson:

Yeah. Hernz, what about you?

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

Yeah. There's a whole bunch of ideas that I would love to dive into in season three. I would say top two is senior housing and ADA accessibility. So as you remember from what Michael Beck said, our number of seniors are growing. There are a lot of seniors who are growing and they need housing. The gap is quite alarming, but there are a lot of efforts being done in order to help provide seniors with housing in the Yellow Springs community. In Columbus, there's a few stories that I'm tracking to see if we can go ahead and capture that. And then also ADA accessibility too. I don't know if you remember from season one when we did the Adaptive Reuse episode where AK Construction turned a bowling alley into housing. It was beneficial for so many reasons, but the woman that I had featured there was on a wheelchair and she literally needed somebody in her old apartment, she needed somebody to carry her down her stairs every single day because it just was older apartment building.

They didn't have anywhere for a ramp. So I think those are definitely two areas that we haven't really touched upon too much. I think it would be great for us to dive into those topics.

Ann Thompson:

Well, here are my top three- data centers. We're hearing so much about them. Oh, for sure. What could be the solution? Well, we don't know exactly, but here's a tease using the ocean to power them. I know there's one effort underway on the West Coast. What about mobile homes as a housing solution or manufactured housing makes up 6% of the housing supply? Can we preserve existing ones that are falling into ruin or build more? And what about public banks? This was something that I really didn't know about until recently a public utility answering to the community and funding projects like infrastructure, but there are also downsides because they are not regulated, positives and negatives. Well, we're going to take some time to plan out season three and we'll be taking a few months off in preparation for our TV premiere in September. So enjoy your summer.

Thanks guys.

Hernz Laguerre Jr.:

No problem.

Ann Thompson:

That's our show. If you like what you hear, please rate and review our podcast. It makes it easier to find. We hope you learned something and if you did, please tell your friends and family about it. For Hernz Laguerre Jr. And Emiko Moore, I'm Ann Thompson. We'll be back in the fall with more solutions. Take care. 

Our show is produced, hosted an edited by me, Ann Thompson with reporting and story editing from Hernz Laguerre Jr. and Emiko Moore. Our Executive producer of Mark Lammers. Audio sweetening provided by Mike Schwartz. Zach Kramer runs the lights and cameras. Derrick Smith is our production specialist and Jason Garrison is our production manager. Marketing and promotions from Mike Shea and Bridgett Dillenburger. Elyssa Stefenson handles the website and Josh Lusby and Steve Wright are our designers. Bill Dean and Andres Kruza are the engineers for the show and our Chief Content Officer is Colin Scianamblo. Our music is from Universal Production Music. Brick by Brick: Solutions for a Thriving Community is a production of CET and ThinkTV, Southwest Ohio PBS member stations.