March 30, 2022
The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland board of directors recently approved the first installment of quarterly grants in 2022 totaling $417,200.
Below, find details and more information about these awards.
1Q 2022 Grants: Ending Homelessness Program
The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland continues a steadfast commitment to ending homelessness in Cuyahoga County through collaboration and evidence-based approaches. Investments in this area represent one of the foundation’s longest-standing funding priorities, dating back to the Affordable Housing Initiative in 1998.
With the foundation’s sustained commitment and leadership, our community has demonstrated that effective collaboration and coordination can end homelessness. The most compelling proof point of this has been the 80% reduction in the rate of chronic homelessness across Cuyahoga County since 2006. Focused on individuals with the longest histories of homelessness and severe and persistent disability, the Housing First initiative has created more than 800 units of permanent supportive housing (PSH) in our community.
We believe that we can end homelessness in our community. Yet, given the complexity of homelessness, we know that no single organization has all the expertise, resources, or ability to create and implement solutions on its own.
As a result, the foundation has focused its efforts in homelessness on building and sustaining effective collaborations through investment in an intermediary – or backbone agency. Beyond grant support, the foundation remains deeply engaged in the work and identifies opportunities to leverage technical assistance and other capacity building to strengthen the collaboration.
With this in mind, SOCF has awarded $100,000 to Enterprise Community Partners to continue to lead the Housing First initiative, and $140,000 to the YWCA Greater Cleveland for its continued role in hosting A Place 4 Me, a diverse public-private collaboration to prevent and end homelessness among young people (ages 14-24), particularly those with histories of foster care.
Through AP4M’s work and advocacy, our community has come face-to-face with the reality that young people experiencing the trauma and crisis of homelessness require unique and tailored approaches that are not currently available within our system of care. There is growing momentum and will to create a
youth drop-in center in Cleveland. The youth drop-in center is intended to be a lifeline and critical mechanism for reaching and supporting young people who are navigating homelessness and housing instability all on their own and sometimes with young children in tow.
This quarter, SOCF grants $85,000 to Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, the operator for the youth drop-in center, in partnership with AP4M.
Our work to end homelessness locally is influenced by state and federal policy and strengthened by partnerships with national organizations and funders engaged in similar efforts across the country. As such, we awarded a $40,000 grant to Funders Together to End Homelessness, a national network of funders committed to elevating their voices to end homelessness and advancing racial and housing justice.
1Q 2022 Grants: Catholic Sisters Program
Since the foundation’s inception, the Catholic sisters program has supported direct service work of sisters, increased awareness of their example of servant leadership, promoted collaboration among congregations of women religious, built capacity of sister-founded and sister-led ministries, and fostered relationships between sisters and lay partners.
Through a funding partnership with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland launched Generative Spirit in 2016. The initiative is focused on forming the next generation of lay people who understand and follow the model of Catholic sisters to become leaders in service and ministry for our cities, country, and the world.
In support of this goal, SOCF Cleveland has awarded the Sisters of Notre Dame of the United States $42,200 to coordinate and develop a video project with other congregations in Northeast Ohio that highlights the reflections of sisters on their ministries and commitment to mission. The goal of this project is to provide a resource to keep alive the mission and spirit of congregations of vowed women religious in Northeast Ohio as congregations become smaller and more lay people are charged with carrying on their mission.
1Q 2022 Grants: Partnerships in Health
Enterprise Community Partners received $50,000 from SOCF Cleveland to support its role as intermediary of the Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition. The coalition was formed in 2018, representing a public-private solution to prevent lead poisoning in Cleveland. Lead-based paint and leaded dust are the primary causes of lead poisoning in Ohio. In Cleveland, more than 90% of the housing stock was built before 1978, when residential lead-based paint was outlawed. In 2019, Cleveland City Council passed legislation requiring all rental units to have a Lead Safe Certificate beginning in March 2021.