CLEVELAND — A former church at the end of a dead-end road in Slavic Village has become the subject of conversation in the neighborhood.
“The potential and opportunities are endless. It’s a beautiful church. It’s almost 200 years old,” said owner Stephanie Thomas, the executive director of Shelter the People Cleveland.
After her organization acquired the property this past fall, Thomas made some necessary improvements so it could be used as a gathering space for Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous groups. She also agreed to allow the Radical Hospitality Overnight Center (RHOC) to use the building as a seasonal place for people experiencing homelessness to sleep, eat a meal and escape the winter elements.
News 5 previously reported that RHOC was facing a major funding gap in February. The organization expected it could be forced to shut its doors by the end of the month if it did not make up a nearly $78,000 shortfall. Watch that story here:
We also reported when funding was approved by Cuyahoga County to keep RHOC operations running through its season in mid-April. Watch that story here, where the shelter director explains why it’s unclear when the money will be available for use and why some neighbors were unhappy with the new funding:
Thomas ended the partnership between RHOC and her organization in early March when RHOC had not yet received the county funding and after neighbors raised concerns about the people using services at the building.
“You’ve got a shelter right here in my backyard. To me, you’re endangering my children, my grandchildren’s lives,” neighbor Feliciano Harris told News 5 in late February.
RHOC has since relocated to the Pilgrim Congregational Church of Christ in the Tremont neighborhood. The program’s de facto executive director said he’s still working out a contract with the county before receiving the money. In the meantime, he’s been fronting many of the costs and payroll out of pocket so RHOC can continue providing nightly meals, showers and places to sleep until mid-April.
“Just the other day when we still had nice weather, we were getting 31 people. So there is a need for this,” Paul Sherlock said.
While the overnight center is no longer operating at the Slavic Village church building, neighbors still express concern over safety and the services provided there. This week, the Cleveland Board of Zoning Appeals heard a presentation from Thomas about the building’s former, current and future uses.
She said she was under the impression the former church’s zoning designation permitted her to operate a community space for the overnight center, AA and NA meetings.
Neighbors also spoke during the meeting. Several said they were frustrated that the property owner and members of both RHOC and Shelter the People Cleveland did not consult with the community about offering services in the former church. Others said guests at the building were often fighting, creating disturbances or doing drugs in the neighborhood.
“Children cannot ride their bikes, they cannot come out and play because [people using the building] are walking 24/7,” neighbor Sandra Fruits said during the meeting.“People were all out in the middle of the street, blasting their music, drinking, smoking weed, standing in front of people’s houses.”
At the zoning board’s recommendation, Thomas agreed to temporarily halt all programming at the building and resubmit a zoning proposal with more specific use plans.
“We’re going to go back and retool and just explain to them everything we’re doing,” Thomas said.
Fruits and Harris both told News 5 off-camera Wednesday that they were relieved the overnight center is no longer located in their neighborhood, but they said they and others worry other services could attract trouble.
Thomas told News 5, “I’m not going to move forward with sheltering unsheltered folks in the church without full permits, approval, the blessing of the city and the neighbors.”
She said she still hopes to use the building for her organization’s offices and to host support groups for people in recovery.
“I’m a grateful recovered alcoholic and addict and not being able to have meetings in my space right now is killing me,” she said. “I wish we could be in there right now, but we’re going to take a pause and go through the proper channels.”
She pledged to field concerns from neighbors and work with the community to find the best use for the property.
“The community doesn’t know just yet that they need that,” Shelter the People Cleveland Vice President Queen Jane Johnson added. “They need that place, just like it was a church that was needed there. So now that it’s a center [providing services], it’s needed there for a purpose.”
Thomas said she plans to hold a community meeting to gather more input and work with the city to obtain the proper zoning and permits for the building’s future purpose.
