CLEVELAND, Ohio — An Ohio City-based nonprofit is rising to meet the growing needs of its community, despite the organization’s own challenges. The demand for services at Trials For Hope has doubled in the past year, according to Jonathan Gray.
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The founder and executive director first gave News 5 a tour of the organization’s operations in August 2022. At that point, Gray explained Trials For Hope was serving close to 1,000 people per month. He said since the pandemic, the nonprofit had been delivering twice as much food, personal care items and other supplies to low-income, homebound and unsheltered individuals.
This week, News 5 toured the same church basement in Ohio City where Gray, his small staff and dozens of volunteers organize and pack donated and purchased food, clothing and supplies. In 2023, Trials for Hope added a food distribution four times a week to meet what Gray said was a growing need.
“We go through over literally 9,000 pounds [of food] a week,” he said.
Gray classified the change as desperation. In the past year, the organization has doubled its clientele and now serves around 2,000 people monthly. He said compounding challenges of high inflation, the end of pandemic-era benefits and other financial and personal hardships were forcing more families and individuals to seek help.
READ MORE: Pandemic-era SNAP benefits end as millions face rising costs at the grocery store
“Everybody needed more food because they didn’t have as many food stamps. The cost of living went up, the deposits for apartments went up, the lack of housing went up, the addiction went up,” he said.
The rising grocery costs have also made it more expensive for the nonprofit to keep its shelves stocked.
“We can easily spend $1,000 a month just on peanut butter,” the executive director said.
Gray brings a valuable perspective to his service. He relies on disability pay and monthly SNAP benefits and has seen the effects of poverty firsthand.
“When you make less than poverty, like $935 for SSDI, and you make $19 for 30 days worth of food, it’s different than having empathy because you’ve lived it,” Gray said.
He started Trials for Hope in his apartment in 2010, assembling bags with travel-sized hygiene products to help supplement what SNAP benefits don’t cover.
“I had a calling to make a difference,” he said.
Throughout the past decade, the services provided by Trials for Hope have expanded. In addition to an on-site food pantry, staff and volunteers deliver food and supplies to encampments of unsheltered people twice weekly. The organization also provides seasonal items, like school supplies and holiday gifts, and a benevolent fund helps families cover one-time expenses during emergencies or illnesses.
Gray said Trials for Hope could use community support, but he also hopes the nonprofit’s work sheds light on the challenges facing many of our neighbors.
“There’s so many people who need to be heard. So my hope is that we could just pause to listen,” he said.
Trials for Hope is hosting a holiday toy distribution at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16 at Lakewood United Methodist Church. The event is first come, first served and participants must bring an ID.
To learn more about Trials for Hope and support the nonprofit’s mission, click on this link.
