What’s New: Mental Health Awareness Month

We know that mental health is foundational to people’s overall well-being. When our mental and behavioral health are compromised, it creates a ripple effect in our lives, our families, and our communities. Good mental health creates a protective layer against  stressors in our lives, whether they be normal, day-to-day stressors that add up over time or life-changing crises that reshape our world.

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Program Spotlight: Returning Home Ohio

“Housing matters and safe and affordable housing matters, and understanding that it's not the people don't want to do better, it's that it's a lot harder than it looks.” –Shyanne Urban, Rapid Rehousing Program Manager

Gina had finally taken her young daughter and fled her abusive partner, but she had done so with no job, no savings, and nowhere to go. She had unresolved chronic health problems she’d been unable to seek treatment for due to lack of access to health care, and she’d developed severe CPTSD from the ongoing strain of living with daily emotional abuse. Her physical and mental health symptoms made it difficult to get out of bed most days, let alone hold down a job. On top of it all, she had begun taking unprescribed pills to get through days filled with physical pain along with mental and emotional anguish. She first went to her mother’s house but was unable to stay for long. Gina’s relationship with her family was strained, and her mother was volatile and frequently verbally abusive, constantly threatening to kick Gina and her daughter out onto the street. The continuous stress and mistreatment brought Gina to her breaking point. Desperate for reprieve, she took her daughter and left.

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What’s New: National Reentry Awareness Month

Did you know April is National Reentry Awareness Month, also known as National Second Chance Month?

The Second Chance Act, passed in 2008, was designed with the goal of reducing recidivism rates and helping formerly incarcerated individuals re-adapt to being part of the community. This has allowed for investment in researching and understanding what it takes to truly improve outcomes for individuals leaving jail or prison, along with families and communities that they return to.

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FrontLiner Profiles: Nicole Knepper

“I love that FrontLine is so integrated in the community, and that we truly meet people where they’re at to make sure they get the services that they need in the way that best suits them. I care about this work because everyone deserves someone to truly support them and help them achieve what is important to them, even if it doesn’t look the way we want it to.”

Nicole Knepper is Associate Director of FrontLine’s Community Health Services Department and has been with the agency since 2013.

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Program Spotlight: Rapid Rehousing

“Housing matters and safe and affordable housing matters, and understanding that it's not the people don't want to do better, it's that it's a lot harder than it looks.” –Shyanne Urban, Rapid Rehousing Program Manager

Gina had finally taken her young daughter and fled her abusive partner, but she had done so with no job, no savings, and nowhere to go. She had unresolved chronic health problems she’d been unable to seek treatment for due to lack of access to health care, and she’d developed severe CPTSD from the ongoing strain of living with daily emotional abuse. Her physical and mental health symptoms made it difficult to get out of bed most days, let alone hold down a job. On top of it all, she had begun taking unprescribed pills to get through days filled with physical pain along with mental and emotional anguish. She first went to her mother’s house but was unable to stay for long. Gina’s relationship with her family was strained, and her mother was volatile and frequently verbally abusive, constantly threatening to kick Gina and her daughter out onto the street. The continuous stress and mistreatment brought Gina to her breaking point. Desperate for reprieve, she took her daughter and left.

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FrontLiner Profiles: Shyanne Urban

“I love that FrontLine is so integrated in the community, and that we truly meet people where they’re at to make sure they get the services that they need in the way that best suits them. I care about this work because everyone deserves someone to truly support them and help them achieve what is important to them, even if it doesn’t look the way we want it to.”

Shyanne Urban is the Traditional Rapid Rehousing, and Domestic Violence Rapid Rehousing Program Manager and has worked at FrontLine since 2022.

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Program Spotlight: A Home For Every Neighbor

During our recent cold snap, we had the pleasure of meeting with Shawna Gurley, Director of Emergency Housing Services, and Nicole Eggert, Program Manager for FrontLine’s to learn more about the City of Cleveland’s “A Home for Every Neighbor” initiative – a new (as of 2024) city program designed to bring a more concentrated combination of resources and interagency services to our unsheltered community members.

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What's New: Agency Changes

FrontLine Service has been proud to offer its unique programming, approach, and dedication to serving those most in need for almost four decades. Like any system with a long life, one of the key components of ensuring continued health is periodically assessing the agency's needs for growth and stability for the future. Last year, we were excited to embark on the creation of a new Strategic Plan, working with the consulting firms Sage & Maven and Strategy Design Partners to facilitate discussions with clients, staff, leadership, and our external community partners. 

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What's NewBruce Walton
Program Spotlight: Supportive Services for Veteran Families

Sev wakes up on the couch in his cousin’s house, checks his phone, and leans back, looking at the ceiling. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes and groans, stretching. He knows he’s lucky to have a few friends and family members who have been able to offer him a temporary place to stay for a week or two, but couch surfing for the last four months is getting pretty old…

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Whats New: FrontLine's Endowment Fund

FrontLine Service is excited to announce the establishment of our agency’s first endowment fund through the Cleveland Foundation.  

FrontLine’s calling has always been to reach out to those most in need, to provide a safe landing and services for those whose needs are not met elsewhere. With nearly 36 years of experience in pursuing this purpose, FrontLine is singularly positioned to serve those impacted by the trauma of violence, homelessness, and the growing need for accessible mental health and crisis services brought on by these escalating challenges.  

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FrontLiner Profiles: Susan Weaver

"[My favorite part of my job is ] working with children and families following trauma. While you are exposed to a lot of secondary traumatic experiences you also get to see and work with families who are resilient, courageous, and help them reestablish their personal power and equilibrium. It is a privilege to walk with them on their journey."

- Susan Weaver is the Children Who Witness Violence Program Manager and has been working with FrontLine since 2008. 

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Program Spotlight: Mobile Crisis Team

The great moments happen when a caller agrees to receiving some form of help.

– Sabrina Kohls, Crisis Intervention Specialist

Allison was concerned when she saw her brother, Brandon, start making risky decisions and claim to have stopped taking his medication; he seemed to be hypervigilant and getting paranoid. She’d seen this happen before, and she remembered where it was usually headed – either with Brandon in the hospital or jail, or cycling for months through unmanaged symptoms struggling to get back to baseline. He’d attempted to take his own life before, and she was getting scared. In any event, these patterns almost always led to long-lasting consequences for Brandon. She decided to reach out to FrontLine Service’s Mobile Crisis Team to request someone call and check in on him.

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