Latest news with #EUMA
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Second Harvest Food Bank hosts 34th annual Break Box Awards
Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania took the afternoon to acknowledge and thank all of their fundraisers. The food bank held its 34th annual Bread Box Awards at its warehouse on Wednesday. Dozen gather in Perry Square to honor Workers Memorial Day The luncheon celebrated groups and organizations that took the 2023/2024 fiscal year to host fundraisers and food drives for the food bank. The Bread Box Award is a rotating trophy that is presented to one group for the most outstanding project of the year. EUMA closes chapter on 13th season of Our Neighbors' Place 'This year's winner is West Advisory Group. They've been a tremendous partner of Second Harvest throughout the years. They do a plethora of different fundraisers, food drives, besides those sorts of things, they really help tell our story in the community as well, they are tremendous partners of Second Harvest,' said Greg Hall, CEO of the Second Harvest Food Bank. Hall said they have amazing support from all over Northwest Pennsylvania. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Our Neighbor's Place officials reflect of first year in central location
The 13th season of EUMA's Our Neighbor's Place seasonal overflow shelter is wrapping up. The chief executive officer of EUMA said the season has gone beyond his expectations. Erie Habitat for Humanity, Erie Insurance partner up to build two new homes Tuesday night was the last night of the seasonal overflow shelter with the doors closing Wednesday morning at 6:45 a.m. The cold months in Erie are coming to an end and EUMA's Our Neighbor's Place seasonal overflow shelter is preparing to close their doors on the 13th season. 'We welcomed over 315 unique individuals. These are people who would not have had any other place to go this shelter of last resort, we've accumulated over 6,000 bed nights,' said Kurt Crays, chief executive officer of EUMA. Crays said the season has far exceeded his expectations with help from the fourteen coordinating churches in the area and hundreds of volunteers. One of those churches is First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant. Ice cream shops open for the season around Erie 'Each congregation handles it slightly differently but there's a collection of basic needs that folks have undergarments, some clean undergarments, sweat clothes in case some people come with clothing that's soiled,' said Seph Kumer, director of community engagement for First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant. Kumer said the role they play goes hand in hand with their walk of faith. 'Definitely serving the community but what we learn is that we really are the ones that grow and learn through serving. It brings our faith to life it helps us understand what we've been asked to do in this life,' he said. Crays said the shelter plays a crucial role in providing temporary housing for those in need, especially during the bitter winter. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 'It's not hyperbole to communicate that this winter shelter literally is providing a safe for people to get out of the cold I believe that there would be individuals who would've been lost to us had our neighbor's place not been available to them,' Crays said. Although the shelter is closing, resources are still being provided to those in need. 'Again housing, permanent housing, affordable housing, supportive housing is the goal so working with individuals to move them on to permanent housing is the goal and I'm happy to report over a dozen individuals who are a part of Our Neighbor's Place are permanently housed tonight,' Crays went on to say. Trans Day of Visibility celebration held in Perry Square Kumer also recalled how each night each church provides 50 meals for guests of the shelter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Middle East Eye
13-03-2025
- Business
- Middle East Eye
Azerbaijan and Armenia agree on draft peace agreement
Azerbaijan and Armenia have agreed on a draft text of a peace agreement, Azeri Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov announced on Thursday. Bayramov said that Armenia has accepted Azerbaijan's proposals regarding the last remaining disputed points in the deal, though he did not specify what those were. "At the next stage, Baku's expectations are clear - Armenia must amend its constitution, which still contains territorial claims to Azerbaijan," the minister said on the sidelines of the XII Global Baku Forum, according to a report by Azerbaijani website Haqqin. The Armenian foreign ministry also confirmed in a statement that Yerevan has reached a draft agreement with Baku and is ready to begin consultations on when and where to sign it. Three separate officials familiar with the deal confirmed that both sides have approved the text of the agreement. However, they noted that some critical issues remain unresolved beyond the scope of the agreement itself. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters One regional official told Middle East Eye that Armenia and Azerbaijan have yet to fully resolve their dispute over the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMA) in Armenia, which tracks ceasefire violations along the front line. A western official, however, told MEE that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is open to not renewing EUMA's mandate, which is set to expire in February 2027. 'It seems more like a breakthrough in the right direction rather than a done deal' - regional official The official added that Baku, in principle, does not want the presence of any foreign monitors, including Russian forces. The regional official also highlighted two other key outstanding issues - the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group and the amendment of the Armenian constitution. Baku wants to formally dissolve the Minsk Group that operates under the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Azeri officials have previously accused the OSCE of being biased against them. Azerbaijan also insists that Armenia revise the preamble of its constitution, which contains language that could be interpreted as making territorial claims on Azeri sovereignty. The timing of these constitutional changes remains a matter of discussion. A western official noted that there are questions about whether Baku would accept Yerevan signing the peace deal first and then proceeding with the constitutional amendments afterward. The Zangezur Corridor Additionally, officials confirmed that Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to withdraw legal cases filed against each other in international judicial organisations. "It seems more like a breakthrough in the right direction rather than a done deal," the regional official said. It is not immediately clear whether the two countries have reached an agreement on the establishment of the so-called Zangezur Corridor, a proposed transport route that would connect Azerbaijan to its exclave, Nakhchivan, through Armenian territory. If established, this corridor could become a major regional trade route. Azeri flights to Israeli base recorded ahead of Nagorno-Karabakh operation Read More » The Second Karabakh War, fought in the fall of 2020, resulted in a decisive Azeri victory. The conflict ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement on 10 November 2020, which saw Azerbaijan regain significant territories in and around the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region that had been under Armenian control since the early 1990s. Since then, tensions between the two sides have remained high. In September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a military operation that resulted in the full reintegration of Nagorno-Karabakh into Azeri control, a territory recognised as part of Azerbaijan by the United Nations. In the aftermath, tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians fled the region, fearing persecution. Efforts toward a lasting peace agreement have since continued, with multiple rounds of negotiations involving western and Russian mediators. However, issues such as border demarcation, the status of Armenian enclaves, and transport routes like the Zangezur Corridor have complicated the process. The western official added that some Azeri troop movements near the front still concern observers.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Local shelters provide warmth as homeless population battles bitter cold temps.
Winter weather has been harsh, especially due to wind chill. Temperatures have consistently been near or below zero degrees. While most people have a warm place to work or a home to return to at night, hundreds of people in Erie don't, and they spend hours out in the elements just trying to survive. Crawford Co. residents impacted by stolen SNAP benefits 'We walk in their shoes from our house to our cars. We stay in a certain level of warmth. When it's something that's not a temporary thing but rather an absolute need that they have no other options, that's where we step in and open our doors,' said Chuck Nelson, board chairman of the Upper Room of Erie. The Upper Room of Erie is open from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and has sheltered dozens of people each day from the bitter cold. It's staffed by people who have experienced homelessness themselves. 'There's no barriers to entry. This is something where they just come in for the heat. There's not a diagnosis of a diagnosis, drug use, or anything like that. They come in for just heat,' said Nelson. EUMA's Our Neighbor's Place seasonal overflow shelter has housed 246 different people throughout the winter — many of those being returning guests night after night. 'Two nights ago we were at 58, the average is around 47 a night,' said Kurt Crays, executive director of the EUMA. 'Even with a sleeping bag, folks are at a great risk of not being able to survive the night unless they had a place like EUMA's Our Neighbor's Place.' While the impact of having a warm place to lay your head for the night can't be overstated, the long-term goal remains to be a pathway to permanent housing. Crays said in his ten years of service, he's never seen the trend in local homelessness shift like this. PennDOT reminds motorists to clear ice, snow off cars to avoid unnecessary dangers 'The individuals who are coming to our neighbor's place are increasingly between the ages of 18-24,' said Crays. 'Our oldest resident here is 72. There are individuals who can barely walk, are using assistive devices, and that is concerning for me. I just want to let folks know that that is what our community is experiencing right now.' Crays said their work isn't possible without volunteers from across the region as well as a network of 14 churches to coordinate care each night. With temperatures being as low as they have been, there's a serious need for donations of things like hand warmers, sweatpants, and other thermal clothing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
