CLEVELAND — Cleveland's new initiative to address the growing problem of unsheltered homeless living on city streets will likely utilize vacant lots already owned by the city to build new housing units.
The plan announced by Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb on Feb. 23 called "A Home for Every Neighbor" is hoping to house 150 unsheltered homeless people within the next 18 months.
Emily Collins, Cleveland Senior Advisor of Major Projects, told News 5 she's confident the initiative will have a long-term impact in significantly reducing the growing unsheltered population local experts said exceeded 500 last year alone.
“We can potentially get to 90% of people who are living currently in unsheltered environments," Collins said. “It makes total sense that we would do some of these innovative, affordable housing builds using some of these scattered sites, vacant lots. So we want to make sure that we are supporting all of the unique needs of every person who has exited unsheltered homelessness as they go along, and that involves case management.”
The program is in partnership with Cuyahoga County and its Office of Homeless Services.
Ward 7 Cleveland Councilwoman Stephanie Howse-Jones showed News 5 some city-owned vacant lots at Addison and Bayliss Avenue that she believes would be great locations for new housing units for the program.
“These are hopefully potential sites that we would look at as we look for 'A Home for Every Neighbor,'" Howse-Jones said. “You would want to be able to connect the land that we have to opportunities to insure that people have stable lives.”
Loh, who is homeless in Cleveland, told News 5 she is pleased with the initiative, but she's hoping it will also address the more immediate needs of the unsheltered homeless in the coming weeks.
“This time we have families not sleeping in the car, they're actually sleeping on the street, maybe with tents and blankets and maybe not," Loh said, “The new housing, it’s 18 months away from now, during this time all kinds of situations can happen to them, they are already in crisis. By the time the housing is ready, are they still here, will they still be even be alive.”
Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless Executive Director Chris Knestrick told News 5 he's enthusiastic about the initiative and said how the city approaches the unsheltered homeless in its effort to help will be crucial to the program's success.
“There’s a lot people that want housing and they can’t find it," Knestrick said. “No intervention works if someone doesn’t trust you, and it’s about building relationships, and making sure and coming back over and over and living up to your promises."
Plan proposals for the program must be submitted by March 25.
News 5 will continue to follow through on this developing story.
