CLEVELAND, Ohio — The pavement in front of 2100 Lakeside Ave. is still wet from the Friday morning rain. The sun is just starting to brighten as men stream out of the city’s largest homeless shelter.
Some stride purposefully down side streets toward the Bishop William M. Cosgrove Center, where they can grab foam breakfast containers that include orange slices.
Others gather in clumps on nearby street corners, smoking and trying to figure where in this shut-down city they can go.
Libraries, fast food restaurants, recreation centers and other public places where shelter residents could use the bathroom, wash their hands and charge their phone are, for the most part, locked up tight. Some can remain in shelters during the day, though most say they want to get out of the cramped quarters that under normal circumstances make “social distancing” a laughable idea.
The word is, if you have another place to go, please go there, said Tony Hall, a 49-year-old with close-cropped, graying hair and a cheeky smile.
Inside the men’s homeless shelter, Hall said, “When I see someone coughing, I just try to go the other way.”
He and others said they are grateful there’s been no cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, reported at the shelter.
“Although,” Hall said, “we are already used to crisis situations.”
As public officials across the country urge everyone to stay home, those without homes find themselves without a lot of options, their daily struggle for survival even more challenging.
“As doors close, the doors are also closed to the most vulnerable,” said Chris Knestrick, executive director of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, or NEOCH. “People that don’t have access to resources and struggle to survive in the easiest of circumstances are so deeply impacted by this.”
Most meals for the homeless can no longer be served community-style. Like many places, St. Herman House is serving bagged lunches. They are being prepared by St. Herman House residents, for now taking the place of volunteers. (Jordyn Grzelewski, The Plain Dealer)
Behind Downtown Deli & Beverage, a woman who said people know her as “Miss Shorty” is perched on the edge of a chipped concrete planter. Other folks congregate, eating chips or drinking 40-ounce cans of Olde English.
Miss Shorty is avoiding the shelters, opting to sleep outside where she can get fresh air — but little else. Places where she used to pick up hygiene items are all running short. There are places to pick up food, she said, but hardly anywhere to sit and eat it, let alone to wash — not even taking what’s referred to as a “ho-bath” — washing armpits and private parts with a washcloth and water.
“It’s like I have no plan,” she said. “I’m like, going in circles. But I’m 63½ so I can only walk around so long.”
Serving the most vulnerable
What do the city’s homeless need most right now?
A place to be. Food to eat. Bathrooms. Charging stations for phones, which are often a lifeline to friends, family members and any community service that can help.
NEOCH asked the city to place portable toilets and cleaning stations in public spaces to give people a place to wash their hands. The city has not responded to Plain Dealer requests for comment.
Asked about the city setting up things like outdoor bathrooms, washing stations and charging centers, Angela Glassco at FrontLine Services said, “When they set up for the marathon or something like that, they bring that all in. So it must be possible.”
People walk outside the Bishop William M. Cosgrove Center in Cleveland on Friday. Coronavirus-related shutdowns are limiting options for people who are homeless, including where they can eat, wash and charge their phones. (Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer)The Plain Dealer
The Cuyahoga County homeless system right now is focusing on reducing the number of people in shelters, with the goal of shrinking shelter populations by 50%. Family and friends of people without stable housing are being urged to temporarily take them in, and people thinking about going to a shelter are being asked to find another safe option if at all possible.
“The emphasis, which has always been to divert if possible, has increased,” said Ruth Gillette, manager of the county’s office of homeless services. “We are desperately trying to reduce the census within the shelter, so we can provide some social distancing, so that we can reduce the spread of germs.”
Additionally, the county’s coordinated intake system has halted in-person assessments and is doing intake by phone, at 216-674-6700. People seeking shelter are also being asked health-related screening questions; if they answer “yes” to two out of three questions, coordinated intake will connect them with medical staff for an assessment.
While it is already possible for people in family shelters to isolate themselves in their room, the county homeless system is working to secure alternative, temporary housing for single adults who may need to isolate, or may be at higher risk of getting sick.
Currently, the community has about 2,000 people experiencing homelessness, Knestrick said.
NOECH wants to provide hotel rooms for those who are not in shelters and is trying to secure funding.
The county homeless system doesn’t have a lot of resources and any hotel stays it offers would be limited to the most vulnerable for a short period of time, Gillette said.
Glassco at FrontLine Services said the system is already taxed and there’s no place to isolate or quarantine someone if they should test positive for the coronavirus.
Hundreds of service providers have their fingers crossed that won’t happen.
Conversations have started about whether hotels or college dorms could be used to more safely house the homeless, she said. “It takes so long to put something like that in place, though,” she said. “It’s good that the conversation started early.”
Getting people into longer-term housing is already a slow process that can take months. “But now it’s even slower.”
Partners at places like EDEN Inc. are still doing re-housing, but with so many employees working remotely, each task becomes harder.
Hall resides at 2100 Lakeside, operated by Luthern Metropolitan Ministries while he waits for permanent housing.
It’s a process that was slow before but is all but halted as nonprofits and agencies who serve the homeless population work to adjust their operations to the same statewide public health orders as everyone else.
The City Mission converted the multipurpose room in one of its buildings to an overflow shelter for 40 men from The Metanoia Project and has increased its cleaning regime.
“Our buildings are stuffed full,” said the Rev. Rich Trickel, CEO of The City Mission.
Yet there’s still a waitlist for women and children looking to find shelter at Laura’s Home. While numbers are lower than normal for intakes, “Every single day we have a significant group we are having to ask to call back,” Trickel said.
All across the system, organizations are working to find extra space for those in need, Knestrick said.
To that end, housing advocates have been calling for a statewide halt to eviction. NEOCH this week delivered a letter to Gov. Mike DeWine’s office calling for an eviction moratorium and additional emergency housing dollars.
“It’s really important to make sure there aren’t new people funneling into the already dangerous shelter system,” Knestrick said.
So far, whether or not you might face eviction during the pandemic depends on where, and in what type of housing, you live.
The Trump administration has suspended evictions for people living in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development properties, and numerous communities across the country have halted evictions. Similar measures have been taken to prevent foreclosures.
Locally, some housing courts have paused evictions while others have not. Cleveland Housing Court has suspended all non-emergency civil proceedings, including evictions, through April 17 and halted court-supervised move-outs until April 20, according to an administrative order filed by Judge W. Mona Scott.
And on the other side of the coin, local officials hope to reduce homelessness and the shelter population by continuing to find stable housing for people.
“With everything that’s going on, landlords have kind of stepped back from taking people in. Some management companies aren’t working,” Gillette said. “To the extent that the private housing [market] can continue to process people, that would be really helpful.”
A new way of life
Pretty much every shelter or organization that serves people who are homeless has had to make adjustments.
Glassco and others at FrontLine praised the nurses, case managers and counselors still finding ways to connect clients, many who are not stably housed, even with the risks posed.
This week they spent time making a list of high-risk mental health clients, ones who depend on long-acting injectable medications. The objective is to know where they are so they can take the medication to them, if needed. “We certainly don’t want those folk decompensating,” Glassco said.
St. Herman House is limiting entry into its shelter, to protect residents from the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. (Jordyn Grzelewski, The Plain Dealer)
St. Herman House, which operates a men’s shelter and transitional housing on Franklin Boulevard in Ohio City, as well as services for people who are homeless, has stopped serving hot meals indoors to the dozens of people who show up each day for lunch and dinner.
“One of the difficulties is … people come here for the hospitality as well as the food,” said Paul Finley, director of St. Herman House. “They come to socialize. They come for a sense of community, a sense of belonging, a sense of family, a sense of humanity, and so it’s a loss for them.”
Still, people are invited to grab a brown-bag lunch and eat it on the house’s property, where there is a tranquil garden and covered pavilion.
On Friday at lunchtime, a few dozen people lined up for a meal. Right now, the shelter’s residents — who don’t have to leave during the day — are taking the place of volunteers, preparing and serving food. They’re also in charge of extra cleaning to help ward off germs, sanitizing all the surfaces in the house four times a day.
Maurice Johnson, 31, came for lunch Friday. He grabbed a sandwich, a bag of Doritos, a KitKat bar and a bottle of water. Oranges, bananas, cookies and cupcakes were also offered, and visitors were invited to take bread to go.
Johnson just moved back to Cleveland, but hasn’t been able to find work and has been staying at shelters.
“Usually I would be job hunting, but all the restaurants are closed,” he said. “It’s a crazy time to not have a roof over your head.”
Normally, he would hang out at the library, but that’s not an option right now, so he’s been visiting friends, walking around, and sitting outside churches, hoping to find a place to charge his phone.
“Every place we could think of … is closed now,” he said. “It’s terrible.”
Darrin Roulette, an assistant cook at the St. Herman House men's shelter in Ohio City, passes out chocolate cupcakes during the organization's free daily lunch for people in need. (Jordyn Grzelewski, The Plain Dealer)
Some of the lunch crowd said it would help if someone would distribute tents, so they could have a sheltered spot to hang out during the day. Tarps and good walking shoes are also needed.
The West Side Catholic Center in Ohio City has also made changes, opting to offer twice-daily to-go meals instead of inviting people inside its cluster of buildings on Lorain Avenue.
But the organization is still operating a food pantry, doing case management and other services over the phone or one-on-one, and doing small-group workforce development classes. The facility has been professionally cleaned, and staff members are sanitizing throughout the day. Staff members and volunteers are having their temperatures checked each day.
At the center’s shelter, families are being asked to avoid common areas and keep to their rooms.
“We’re prepared that if we had to quarantine someone, we have enough space,” said Executive Director John Litten.
Providence House, which serves at-risk children and families in crisis, on Friday temporarily closed its crisis nursery, discharging 14 children. President and CEO Natalie Leek said the risk of spreading COVID-19 among changing groups of young children was too great.
Finding solutions
At the Bishop Cosgrove Center, trash cans overflow with empty meal containers. Flyers taped to the front door have phone numbers and directions for the various housing and food emergencies exacerbated by this pandemic without a clear end in sight.
Catholic Charities staff pass food out the back door at the Bishop William M. Cosgrove Center on Friday. They are also preparing twice-a-day meals — breakfast and lunch — that can be picked up. (Rachel Dissell, The Plain Dealer)
Around the back, weary-looking Catholic Charities staff help pack food — heads of cabbage and DiGiorno pizzas — into paper bags for elderly women lined up with folding shopping carts. The staff members wear gloves and hand the food through a door. The ladies, who are food pantry regulars, wear medical masks over their faces. Walk-ups are told to call United Way’s 2-1-1 line to find out the nearest emergency food available.
Eric Milkie, a Catholic Charities program manager, said the staff of seven is taxed because the normal school and community volunteer groups who help them put out massive meals can no longer help for safety reasons.
But Milkie said they plan to keep putting out meals at 8 a.m. and noon. There are also a few bathrooms onsite and showers where people can get clean, but not nearly enough for the need.
There’s been an outpouring of food donations, which has helped. Pallets of potatoes and other fresh items are the most helpful because they can get them out quickly.
“So we haven’t had to dip into our pantry — yet,” he said.
How to help
More than one organization said that for those looking to help right now, monetary donations are the most flexible contribution. And for those looking to provide a different type of support, some said it’s best to call first and ask what’s needed. No one knows how long this will last, so shelters want to make sure they are prepared not just for today, but for the next few months.
To donate to NEOCH’s emergency fund, visit: https://www.neoch.org/covid19 or send a check to NEOCH, 3631 Perkins Ave. #3A-3, Cleveland, Ohio 44114. Or contact a specific shelter directly.
Shelters are most in need of hand sanitizer, disinfectant, baby wipes, toilet paper, paper towels, bottled water, and self-opening canned items and other ready-to-eat items. To arrange a drive or to drop off items, contact Molly Martin at NEOCH at mollymartin@neoch.org or 216-432-0540.
Another way to help is by donating to the Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund, which will distribute grants to community safety-net agencies.
Read more coronavirus coverage:
Oriana House releases hundreds of residents
Do you have loved ones in the hospital you can’t visit?
Scarcity, health care rationing and coronavirus
How and where to get tested for coronavirus
Childcare centers, parents grapple with tough choices
Acts of kindness amid coronavirus pandemic
Health care workers, what’s it like handling coronavirus cases?
Hudson mom shares ‘brutal’ encounter with coronavirus