Temperatures this week will be well below freezing and while most of us have a warm place to stay, Cleveland has thousands of homeless that will endure the freezing temperatures on city streets.
There’s help on the way though.
Beginning in 2017, the Ohio Development Services Agency will provide $23.8 million in grants to support 76 local organizations that provide resources for the homeless across the state of Ohio.
“This is a rehabilitation process,” said Kyle Wright, a homeless man living at the Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry Shelter on Lakeside in Downtown Cleveland.
Within the walls of the shelter, Wright says he has a lot more than just a home.
“It’s therapy. A lot of the things they do here are polish,” he said.
The Lutheran Men’s Shelter, the single largest homeless shelter in Ohio, will be getting a $350,000 grant from the state to help with its daily operating costs.
“We use it for operating the 2100 Shelter here and we also use it for operating the overflow shelter, so that’s a space that we have when we’re completely full, we can still transport the guys just for the night so that they have shelter and they’re out of the cold as well,” said Michael Sering, the Vice President of Housing for Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry.
In a single night, the shelter will house 400 men. The state’s grant is coming just in time to help provide shelter for hundreds during the frigid winter nights.
The Cleveland Salvation Army will walk away with roughly $750,000 and the Cleveland YMCA will receive nearly $200,000.
Cleveland homeless like Bruce Waljakka, know this funding will go a long way in helping hundreds.
“You don’t know what their situation is until you actually walk a mile in their shoes. You don’t know exactly what they’re going through, what it may be,” he said.
