CLEVELAND — The City of Cleveland is taking a step towards a leadership role in helping the city's growing unhoused population, announcing more than $3 million in funding support to seven agencies that help the homeless.
Emily Collins, Senior Adviser to Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, told News 5 there are two key reasons why the city's homeless and unsheltered homeless populations are growing.
“COVID funding is falling off at the same time we’re seeing very, very big rent and a lack of affordable housing," Collins said. “All cities have been put in a position where they need to step-up and lead in this space, and Cleveland is looking at how to best do that.”
Collins said the grant funding will go into two areas, including the Rapid Re-housing program and local agencies that have a direct impact on helping the homeless.
“Rapid Re-housing is re-housing that provides rental assistance and individualized low barrier housing," Collins said. “The grants will help Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, Bishop Cosgrove and Catholic Charities, the YWCA, Journey Center, which is for women who have experienced domestic violence."
The Sub Zero Mission in Painesville knows the city funding is crucial because it helps the unsheltered homeless firsthand. It told News 5 its team has deployed 29 missions since Dec. 1, including two missions in Ashtabula, four missions in Painesville and Cleveland, and two missions in Akron. The Agency has served in five states this winter and has delivered over 17,400 warming items.
But some homeless advocates, like Loh, who is homeless in Cleveland, believe that while the $3 million in funding put up by the City of Cleveland is great, more consistent and larger funding is needed, as well as more direct outreach to unsheltered homeless living in tents or out on the streets.
“This is just a drop in the bucket; on the ground, it will not really do too much; this dollar amount going to the seven agencies, it will not really make that big of a difference," Loh said. “This dollar amount, this particular funding, is a one-time deal, just like ARPA funds. When it’s a one-time deal, none of the agencies would dare do what they really want to do.”
Meanwhile, Collins said a leadership meeting with input from Cleveland's unsheltered homeless will take place in the coming months in trying to determine what more can done.
“How we can do some peer learning from the cities that we think are doing a really great job, and we do hope to do this in a way that is in concert with the county’s strategic planning," Collins said. “We know from other cities that we can see up to a 90% success in housing our unsheltered residents if we take the right approach.”
During recent winter storms, the city said more than 120 individuals have utilized city warming sites throughout the week. Anyone seeking overnight shelter should call 211 who will be able to connect you with a variety of shelter and overnight housing options. The County’s OHS coordinates a continuum of care, which includes prevention, shelter services, and permanent supportive housing.
News 5 will follow though on this developing story.
