Partners in a project to build a drop-in center in Ohio City to provide social services to young people experiencing homelessness made an appeal Tuesday to the public and have also filed an appeal of a court decision halting the project.
Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, a social services agency, and A Place 4 Me, a nonprofit seeking to end youth homelessness in Cuyahoga County, argued Tuesday that a Cuyahoga County judge erred when he overturned a variance from city zoning code that the drop-in center project had received in 2023.
Judge Brian Mooney had ruled in December 2024 that the partners had failed to prove they would experience a "hardship" by not building the drop-in center at Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry's offices in a residential neighborhood in Ohio City.
Several neighbors had initially filed the suit in 2023 to halt the project, arguing that while they were in favor of the drop-in center itself, they believed building it on their street would increase trash, crime and noise. Maria Foschia, president and CEO of Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, said the lawsuit was based on "fear."
"This is due to a small minority of neighbors who have opposed the center based on unfounded fears of how young people facing housing instability will allegedly conduct themselves," she said. "I would like to acknowledge that over this time, an overwhelming majority of the Ohio City neighbors have indicated their support for the youth drop in center at this location."
The drop-in center, meant to provide food, showers, a place to rest and case management for young people experiencing housing instability, has been delayed for two years. Kay Morgan, member of the REACH Youth Action Board, a group of young people who have experienced homelessness which has advised the project from the beginning, says a resource like that would have helped immensely in Morgan's past.
"I was living on the streets of Cleveland in high school, my 12th grade year. So I started college not knowing where I would lay my head at or where my next meal would be," Morgan said. "With no family support and a caseworker that didn't care, in college, I stayed with people I just met, which wasn't safe. I asked students at the school to share their meals with me, and got food where I could."
LMM, A Place 4 Me and the REACH Board have been steadfast in their determination that the drop-in center should be built in Ohio City, despite Judge Mooney in his ruling noting that they could choose to build the center elsewhere. Foschia said the young people advising the project said Ohio City was the best place for it.
"Young people should not receive services in impoverished or industrial sites," Foschia said of other sites the drop-in center might be allowed in. "They deserve to be in a diverse neighborhood with all types of people and services so they can thrive. They seek safety resources and a sense of belonging, just like you and I."
She added other charitable organizations provide services to people experiencing homelessness within a few blocks. Foschia said the project is funded by a mix of nonprofits, businesses and grants, as well as Cuyahoga County; about $1.5 million will go toward renovation of the office at 4100 Franklin Boulevard, while it will cost an additional $1.5 million to operate each year. She said there will be a plain-clothes police officer staffed as well as safety improvements like a fence to close off the property when it's not offering services, which officials have previously said would be between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Ron O'Leary, a former Cleveland Housing Court judge who lives adjacent to the property, who filed the lawsuit with several other neighbors, in the lawsuit alleged Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry currently fails to control nuisance behavior at the property
“People urinate and defecate on the Property,” the response reads. “Three people attempted a carjacking at gunpoint in front of O’Leary’s house where one of the carjackers hid behind the brick wall in front of the Property. A man who slept behind the front wall on-and-off for years has repeatedly screamed threats and profanities at O’Leary, his family, and other neighbors. This included yelling profanities during the Cleveland Marathon and exposing himself to multiple people mid-afternoon on a weekend in early June 2024.”
The nonprofit in its response to O’Leary’s filing noted none of the individuals allegedly involved in those activities are Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry or A Place 4 Me clients, nor has it received any notices or citations from the city of Cleveland regarding any code violations. Foschia said Tuesday the city of Cleveland has also filed an appeal of Judge Mooney's ruling as well.
Christie Sozio, assistant director of A Place 4 Me, said her organization has been helping young people by appointment only out of the property for a year, and has not run into any trouble.
"83% of the young people we served were black or African American, which is greatly disproportionate to the general population," she added. "More than 70% of the young people we worked with were female, and over a third were parents."
