Employees at Eastside Catholic Center and Shelter are packing boxes and clearing desks. Today is the last day for the nonprofit's 23 workers. Rooms for 14 homeless families including 19 children are already empty. Some of the homeless have moved to single family housing, others into different shelters. The center announced it would close earlier this month after Myrtle Muntz, a consultant hired by the board, determined the organization was in too much financial and operational difficulty to save. But, she says, there is already discussion on how to bring back the desperately needed space for the growing number of homeless families in Cuyahoga County.
Muntz: The shelter may be picked up by another nonprofit and if that happens we will certainly help that to happen.
Muntz is also contacting funders to see if they will transfer grants originally promised to Eastside Catholic to other institutions. She will stay on for another month to figure out how much debt the nonprofit is actually in, and how to resolve it. Mhari Saito, 90.3.