The Cleveland Cancer Collective, a measure of the citys grassroots resilience: Richey Piiparinen [Video]

CLEVELAND — I talked to a friend recently whose wife was diagnosed with glioblastoma, or brain cancer. We were at the Guardians game. It was a warm evening. The long spring finally sprung, the softening Lake Erie winds were bathing the crowd. My buddy was a nurse, making a switch from bartender after going back to school at Cuyahoga Community College. He specialized in psychiatric nursing. I knew he did good work, an honest day’s work. He was a good guy. But he was also a grieving spouse, his wife having just passed.

My buddy recently transitioned from in-patient to community-based care. He was the initial point of contact for those who fell through the cracks. We see these individuals often, conveniently conceiving of them as “just” homeless, but knowing there’s more to it than that. Rather, they are the lost souls of the Great Lakes materialized in the here …