MADISONVILLE, Ohio — When Liz Field started her business, The Cheesecakery, she wanted to bring it to her hometown of Madisonville. But recently, she says a number of issues have left her feeling defeated.
“I don’t know what to do ... do I leave Madisonville? I don’t wanna leave Madisonville, it’s my home,” said Field.
Field told us that, like many small businesses, she’s struggling financially.
“The demand is down everywhere, you know, everyone is holding onto their money, rightfully so,” said Field. “I’ve been very stressed about sales being down like 80%. .., My sales are so low.”
But it’s not the lack of sales that’s Field’s biggest concern; it’s the lack of safety that she, her employees and customers often feel.
Hear Fields' concerns about harassment & safety near her store, and the solutions she's seeking:
“There’s a lot of harassment and riff raff happening here at my store in Madisonville,” said Field.
Field told us the harassment and issues have gotten worse within the last year, and now she’s at her wits' end and doesn’t know what to do.
This led her to post her frustrations on Facebook. The post pointed to an “increase in theft and harassment from teenagers.”
“The kids are running around, screaming, throwing things, leaving their trash everywhere, coming in my shop, stealing from us, you know, threatening our girls if they don’t give them stuff,” said Field.
The post goes on to say men have also gotten in her employees' and customers' faces, making them feel unsafe. Field said this has caused three of her employees to quit in less than a week.
“Most of our staff here is women, most of our customers are women. And so they feel very unsafe — especially at nighttime. It’s very dark down here, and there’s not a lot of police action that’s happening,” said Field.
I reached out to the Cincinnati Police Department about the issues Field is facing. They told me that they are aware of the situation and that their neighborhood unit is working with The Cheesecakery and the community to find solutions.
In a second Facebook post, Field wrote, “I am now working closely with Sgt. Sellers and our Neighborhood Liaison Officer to create long-term, compassionate solutions that make our team feel safe without putting a band-aid over the real issues. I’m hopeful. And for the first time in a long time, I don’t feel alone in this.”
Fields’ hope is that they can find a permanent solution to help everyone.
“I don’t know what it is, that’s why I asked. And I don’t want a temporary fix where it's hey, we can just monitor for the couple weeks, and then it goes back to normal,” said Field. “Like, we need tangible solutions, because it’s also not just my business that’s seeing these issues. There’s other businesses down the street.”
