Most college students probably prefer to leave simple living behind when they graduate and seek a full-time job. Yet it’s fair to say members of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps are not your typical college graduates.

For a one-year stint, the young people who sign up to participate in the JVC program scrimp on worldly delights to help the poor. The JVC is a national service program that places young people at nonprofit agencies and schools in order to serve marginalized communities in the U.S. and in developing countries.

For over 40 years, 6-8 JV’s have moved to Cleveland annually to join the program. For the past 30 years, the Cleveland JV’s have lived in a Church Avenue home owned by longtime Ohio City residents Bill and Jean Merriman. 

The home, which has been renovated for communal living, features eight small bedrooms, a big kitchen and a backyard with a new sundeck. The Merrimans bought the house when the city was ready to tear it down; they’ve slowly been restoring it over three decades. 
  
Bill Merriman developed an interest in helping the poor while serving in the Army as a young man. He lived for three years in the Third World and witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of poverty and inequity on communities.

“It’s a privilege to have them next door,” says Merriman, who raised his two sons on Church in the ‘70s and ‘80s. “The program helps bring people of education and resources to Ohio City to create a more just world for the needy.”

The JV community has become a cherished tradition in Ohio City. Each year, arriving volunteers are welcomed by a parade of well-wishers who line up on Church Avenue just to greet them. 

When current JVC volunteers Miranda McOsker and Rebecca Power arrived in Cleveland from New York and California last summer, they were surprised by the enthusiastic welcome wagon.    

“It was a little overwhelming,” says McOsker, a California native. “Being a Cleveland JV is such a cool experience – wherever you go, people know who you are. There’s a huge network out there.”

“None of us had been to Cleveland before,” adds Rebecca Power, a fellow JV who grew up in New York State. “I thought it would be like Detroit. I’ve been pleasantly surprised.”
The Cleveland JV’s work at nonprofit agencies like St. Ignatius’ Arrupe House and the West Side Catholic Center. Because Ohio City is centrally located, they can walk, bike or ride the bus. There is a communal car available for use, but it often doesn’t get driven except on the weekends or for major shopping trips.

Volunteers live on stipends of $100 per month plus shared money for food and rent. There’s no cable TV, no high-end appliances. For weekly entertainment, Community Nights and Spirituality Nights are more common than going to a bar or watching the new HBO series.  

The volunteers say that being a JV is a life-changing experience that teaches them how to live simply, set their own priorities and be resourceful. 

“One of the current JV’s takes the bus to work each day,” says McOsker. “This was the first time he’s ridden public transportation in his life. It was a goal for him, and he did it.”

The program fits right in with Ohio City’s longstanding tradition of Jesuit service to the poor. A wide range of programs exist at St. Ignatius and other nonprofit agencies to provide outreach to low-income residents in Ohio City. For instance, the Arrupe program at St. Ignatius offers a wide range of programs to help neighborhood youth and families.

The JV program also provides an economic boost to Cleveland. Merriman says that at least 35 of the 200-something JV’s who have come to Cleveland in the past 30 years have put down roots here. Councilman Kevin Kelley, who serves the Old Brooklyn neighborhood, was a JV here, as was City Law Director Barbara Langhenry, just to name a few.

“I grew up in the suburbs but always wanted to live in an urban environment,” says Langhenry, a Chicago native who decided to stay in Ohio City after meeting her husband. “I liked the commitment of so many people to the community.”

Councilman Joe Cimperman, a Cleveland native who worked at an AIDS hospice in Boston as a JV, says he owes his career in public service to his Jesuit education at St. Ignatius and John Carroll as well as his JV year. Without the Jesuits, he wouldn’t be where he is today, he says.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about those experiences,” says Cimperman, who received a full scholarship to attend St. Ignatius and John Carroll and worked his way through school as a youth. “And I have a pretty awesome job now in terms of helping people out.”

Veronica Favela is a former Jesuit Volunteeer who completed her JV year, moved back to California for a year, then came back to Cleveland because she missed it. She is now the Alumni Director at St. Martin De Porres, a Catholic school located near St. Clair and E. 64th.  Street.

“I love the community, how your job is more than just a job - it’s a service you’re doing for the community,” she says. “It was a total paradigm switch. I just realized that I don’t care about money – I want a job I’m passionate about.”

For Merriman, JV’s like Favela provide a reminder of why he decided to support the program by renting to JV’s more than 30 years ago. “The Jesuit volunteer program is helping to change lives in the Ohio City community.”