February 20, 2023
On February 6, Cleveland’s Board of Zoning Appeals gave the go-ahead on the next stage of launching a youth drop-in center for young people seeking housing stability.
On behalf of the partners of the Youth Drop-In Center project, including A Place 4 Me, the REACH Youth Action Board, the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland and Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry (LMM), below is a message of thanks and an update on the project, shared by LMM.
We greatly appreciate the significant community support shown for this important project. More than 180 residents of Ohio City signed a community petition or wrote letters with a goal of moving the project forward at the proposed location. We were pleased to also have the support of the Cleveland City Councilman, Kerry McCormack, and the majority vote of support from the Franklin Clinton Block Club. The steadfast advocacy for this effort has confirmed that this community is willing to work with LMM and our partners to meet this critical moment, and help address housing instability for young people.
This process has been a challenging experience over the past year, and we are thankful to be able to move ahead. LMM is committed to working cooperatively to ensure that our neighborhood is a desirable and safe place to serve, live and work. As a long-standing member of this neighborhood and community, we have a mutual interest in creating and maintaining a safe, harmonious and pleasant neighborhood. It is our desire also to develop a cooperative relationship so that we may work with our neighbors to resolve mutual concerns and problems, as well as seek out ways to proactively build community.
Our next step is to update the renovation timeline and look forward to opening the center as soon as the building is ready. We will continue to provide you with updates, including renovation progress, and ways you can continue to be involved with this effort. Updates will be provided
through email, on the
coUrbanize website, and available on LMM’s website,
lutheranmetro.org.
We celebrate this moment with our advocates, partners, and the young adults in our community who will soon have a peaceful, safe and secure environment to meet their unique needs.
For more about the drop-in center, read:
Cleveland's youth drop-in center will meet young people where they are