Cuyahoga County’s new director of homeless services wants to protect Northeast Ohioans, grapples with federal hurdles

More than 30 agencies, nonprofits and community organizations in Greater Cleveland are dedicated to securing temporary shelter and permanent housing for the homeless, and to preventing folks from becoming homeless in the first place. Coordinating those efforts efficiently is no easy job.

LeVine Ross, as the new director of Cuyahoga County’s Office of Homeless Services, has been charged with that task. Her resume shows that she’s up for it.

From 2001-2014, Ross worked at the county’s Division of Children and Family Services, mostly training rookie social workers. Then, until earlier this year, she was senior health and human services policy advisor to Cuyahoga County Council, helping council members understand how homeless services are funded and how that funding impacts their constituents. Simultaneously, she was a member of the Office of Homeless Services Advisory Board. 

More importantly, Ross has spent time with the homeless. She’s worked with other agencies assisting them and built relationships with group leaders.

“One thing I found out is that prevention is key,” Ross said. “How do we keep families from major crises? We can do that through food assistance, utility assistance and rental assistance, before it becomes a full blown crisis. 

“And it’s important to meet people where they are, seeing what their needs are and the outcomes they want, instead of what we want to see,” Ross said. “You have to develop a rapport with people and you have to gain their buy-in to have a successful partnership.”

Ross began her new role Sept. 8, succeeding Melissa Sirak, who stepped down at the end of 2024. It’s a little early for her to announce any major changes or new initiatives in the Office of Homeless Services. She’s still updating herself on federal funding policies and meeting with leaders of county partners.

First steps

Ross did say, however, that she wants to focus more on senior citizens, finding them housing and keeping them from becoming homeless. 

“We are serving a high percentage of older adults in our shelter system who have severe mental and physical health challenges that present significant barriers to finding housing.” Ross said. “Housing plans that include outside community partnerships might better assist in housing these individuals in more appropriate settings that can meet their needs.”

Also, the county under Ross will complete the expansion of a men’s shelter on Lakeside Avenue. The county bought the building next door for $4.5 million in 2021 and is adding another 14,000 square feet to the shelter. Construction of the final phase of the project, which is in partnership with Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, is expected to start in early 2026, Ross said.

The expansion will not add beds to the shelter, the largest in Ohio, although in a cold-weather emergency it could fit about 50 more beds. Instead, clients will now have semi-private rooms with lockers and private showers. 

The shelter’s redesign was a lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic, when social distancing stopped the virus from spreading.

“It just brings a more dignified supporting space,” Ross said.

The Office of Homeless Services will also continue to implement the county’s Strategic Action Plan For Homelessness, which calls for reducing homelessness by 25 percent by 2027.

Ross said that at least two goals in the strategic plan should be achieved by the end of 2026. These include an expansion of the 211 call center, operated by United Way and funded by the county. People call 211 when they are facing a housing, food, medical or mental-health crisis. 

Also, the county hopes to hire another “housing navigator” to assist the homeless in finding permanent, affordable housing. Now, the county and Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority, in a pilot program, are partnering to staff one housing navigator at three of the largest county shelters.

Meanwhile, the Office of Homeless Services will continue to support the city of Cleveland’s A Home for Every Neighbor program, designed to take people quickly off the streets and directly into affordable housing. The speedy process is designed to take 30-60 days, instead of three-four months or even a year through traditional methods.

Liam Haggerty, housing and outreach program manager for A Home for Every Neighbor, said the program has housed 191 people since it was launched in July 2024, surpassing its goal to house 150 people in the first 18 months. He said Cleveland City Council has agreed to fund the program for a second year. 

Funding challenges  

Ross will face challenges, though. The Office of Homeless Services receives about $52 million from HUD every year, and recent federal changes to the funding criteria may prove problematic. Ross said the changes aren’t yet official. 

For example, the federal government has notified agencies that in order to provide housing, they would first have to treat clients for addictions and/or mental health issues. That’s the opposite of the county’s current approach to provide shelter first.

“Historically, under previous administrations, the notion was that an individual can’t really work on sobriety in a shelter,” said Allison Gail, senior administrator with the Office of Homeless Services. “That wasn’t the best environment to be working through a treatment program. 

“So we would allow people to move into PSH (permanent supportive housing) when they were ready,” Gail said. “We would have those (addiction and mental health) services available, but only when they were ready would they participate. But that was not going to be a barrier to housing.”

Also, to receive HUD money, agencies may have to report the immigration status of those they serve. That might discourage some people from seeking help.

Affordable housing

David Merriman, director of the Cuyahoga County Department of Health and Human Services, said temporary shelters are essential for people in emergencies.

“But the solution to homelessness is not just constantly expanding shelters,” Merriman said. “We need resources and a strategy to expand permanent, affordable housing.”

Unfortunately, due to a lack of affordable housing, people are staying longer in shelters. To address that situation, county Executive Chris Ronayne has created a Department of Housing and Community Development to promote the building of affordable housing and coach newly housed residents in home ownership and maintenance. 

Meanwhile, Ross is exploring innovative ideas. Vista Village in Columbus, for example, consists of tiny homes that act as transitional housing where people can live for 18 months or so. The homes are 420 square feet. 

“Other cities and counties are doing innovative work around tiny home villages and shared housing models, where two people share a house with their own rooms but they share common areas,” Ross said. “That could also work well with the senior populations, if they’re unable to live alone but need a little bit of assistance with daily care.”

Gail said landlords can also help by visiting the website for EDEN, a housing program in Cleveland. EDEN guarantees landlords 12 months of rent on behalf of formerly homeless tenants and case management for the tenants.

“The case managers work closely with the landlords,” Gail said. “There are many landlords in the community that do this for altruistic reasons.”

Meanwhile, Merriman said the Cuyahoga County Land Bank is working with Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry on creating affordable housing on land-banked property. 

“That’s a great example of a public-private partnership,” Merriman said. “It’s a viable model but we need new funding sources to keep it going.”