Program Spotlight: Family Housing Management
“I want better for them than I had.”
—Diane, mother of four
Ask any parent and they will tell you how hard it is to keep your children happy and healthy. But what happens when you don’t have a home to raise them in, or when you suffer from mental illness?
Five years ago, Diane and her infant daughter were living in a homeless shelter. Diane was at the end of her rope, caring for her three-month-old after moving to Cleveland from another state to start a new life.
When Diane was a child, she lost her parents to drug use. Throughout her life, she had survived abusive relationships. When Diane discovered she was pregnant, she obsessed about giving her child a better life. “I don’t want my kids to ever have to experience homelessness or trauma or drug use like I did,” Diane said.
In 2022, 816 families—including 1,810 children—sought emergency shelter through Cuyahoga County’s Coordinated Intake system. Most families who experience homelessness are diverted or linked to temporary rental assistance or other short-term solutions to help them find a permanent place to live. About 150 families each year, who, like Diane’s, face the greatest barriers to overcoming homelessness, are served by FrontLine’s Family Housing Management (FHM) program.
FHM provides life-long supportive services to families who have been homeless for more than a year, and whose head of household has severe mental illness, substance use disorder, or HIV/AIDS. FrontLine and other housing providers throughout the Cuyahoga County Continuum of Care collaborate to link eligible families to the program, and the nonprofit EDEN administers the long-term rental assistance.
FHM case managers support clients to address any goal they have, including employment, mental health services, childcare, benefits enrollment, and basic needs items. Diane talked with her case manager, Theresa Olson (who is also the FHM program manager), about living with Major Depressive Disorder. Living alone in a new city felt isolating, and as a first-time mother, she had little time to address her depression. Diane’s depression ran deep, even leading her to contemplate suicide. She hoped that FHM could help her and her daughter find a better foundation.
When Diane moved into her new apartment, Theresa saw a spark of excitement in her, an “aha moment” that this home was hers, that the life she had moved to Cleveland for could begin. She could raise her children there, she could enroll them in the school system and could look for a job without the immediate stress of worrying about rent.
Theresa helped Diane connect to ongoing mental health services and explore options to treat the symptoms of her depression. Theresa also helped Diane enroll in a culinary job program. Since graduating, Diane has held steady employment.
During one of her monthly visits to Diane, Theresa found that Diane had created an alphabet wall decoration to teach her daughter the ABCs. Diane sang the ABC song to her daughter every day. If it was just her, Diane told Theresa, she may not have been so determined to find a solution, but her daughter was the only thing keeping her from giving up. Theresa and Diane stay in touch every month, and more often as needed, to work through life’s ups and downs.