Cleveland’s Board of Zoning Appeals approved variances on Monday for a drop-in center for unhoused youth in Ohio City, fending off objections from neighbors who say it will bring crime, traffic, and trash to their residential neighborhood and won’t serve the intended population.
Maria Foschia, CEO of Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, which owns the property at 4100 Franklin Blvd. where the youth drop-in center is being proposed, said the facility would be a “resource hub” that would help youth ages 16-24 to access food, clothing, internet, bus passes, health services, and more. It would operate 10 hours per day, 7 days per week from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Foschia said that as many as 550 youth seek emergency shelter in Cuyahoga County each year, and the center would serve an estimated 200 youth annually, many of whom are minorities and identify as LGBT. Proposed renovations would cost about $1.5 million, according to LMM.
“At a pivotal moment as a community experiencing homelessness, we have an opportunity to listen to youth … and provide the resources necessary for them to thrive,” Foschia told the BZA.
Kai Cotton, lead navigator with A Place 4 Me, an initiative of the YWCA of Greater Cleveland to end youth homelessness, is a formerly homeless youth who helped create the center. She said there is a need for a youth drop-in center in Cuyahoga County and that similar centers exist in other cities in Ohio. Additionally, she said, the center will not attract crime.
“Some people think people experiencing homelessness are more likely to commit a crime, but the opposite is true – they’re more likely to be victims of crime,” she told the BZA. “The drop-in center will be a sanctuary for young adults. It’s an opportunity for their needs to be met. Drop-in centers are proven to lower the chances of people experiencing homelessness to sleep in the streets.”
Angela D’Orazio, senior program officer at the Sisters of Charity Foundation, which contributed funding and research support to the effort, said youth experiencing homelessness feel safer at youth facilities than at adult facilities. She cited a study showing that more than one-third of young people do not use emergency shelters they’re referred to by social service agencies, while others leave within days and “get lost to the system.”
“Young people here and around the country have said an emergency shelter is not what they want and need,” she said. “A youth shelter like the one we propose honors young people’s lived experience and their hope for a better response to the trauma of housing instability.”
Neighbors opposing the variance request expressed their fears that it would bring unwanted crime, trash, and traffic. “We’ve repeatedly told Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry that this is a good program and a needed resource, but it’s not the right location for this,” said Ron O’Leary, a former Cleveland Housing Court judge who now serves as administrator of the Cuyahoga County Board of Revision. O’Leary lives next to the property with his family. “It needs to be closer to a bus line and not located near residential homes.”
Dolores Garcia, an attorney who also lives adjacent to the proposed center, said LMM is trying to turn an underutilized vacant building into something the neighborhood doesn’t want. “This is a revenue generating facility for a multimillion-dollar corporation, and that seems to be the driving motivation,” she said.
Another neighbor, Marge Misak, said she has lived next to other facilities in Ohio City serving people experiencing homelessness, and they have not brought negative consequences to her or her family. “This is a neighborhood that is welcoming, and those interactions can be very positive,” she said, citing the fact that more than 180 neighbors signed a letter of support for the proposed drop-in center.
Nate Lull, neighborhood planning manager at Ohio City Inc., stated that there had been multiple community meetings, and a Courbanize site was developed to gather feedback about the project. City planner Matt Moss said that from the city’s perspective there is a need for such facilities, and the area is well served by public transit. The RTA bus line that runs down Detroit Ave. is within a 5-10 minute walk. LMM’s Foschia said the facility would have security cameras as well as security personnel and that LMM would maintain the property.
Ward 3 council member Kerry McCormack provided a letter of support. The Cleveland Landmarks Commission also approved minor exterior renovations to the building. BZA voted 4-0 to approve the project but required that LMM submit a security plan before officially ratifying the zoning variances.
Watch and participate in BZA meetings on Youtube at City Planning Commission – YouTube.
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