A parent is always thinking of their children: how to feed, clothe, teach, and comfort them. That pressure exponentially increases when you are also fleeing from an abusive partner with no support system.

Jess needs somewhere to stay after living out of her car with her three children. The seats make uncomfortable beds, and she can only keep the heat running for so long before her battery runs out. It’s difficult to feel safe in a parking lot or garage, but it feels much safer to her than living another night with her abusive partner.

Program Spotlight: Art Workshops

On a bright but frigid Thursday afternoon, residents at Harper’s Pointe, a Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) site, gather in the community room to begin their monthly art workshop. Art instructor and local professional artist, Guy Vincent, introduces the activity of decorating small paper craft boxes, offering coloring supplies, old magazines, glue, and scissors to decorate the boxes however they like.

Program Spotlight: Permanent Supportive Housing

The road to mental health recovery is not a straight line. It takes many twists and turns, with success looking different for every person. When an individual’s condition changes, FrontLine staff do not give up but look for additional ways to support those who are struggling.

Program Spotlight: Forensics Team

David considered the end of his 30-year prison sentence a starting line rather than a finish line.

After his release, David struggled to live in a world he hadn't seen in decades. He felt completely lost filling out online applications for jobs and housing and navigating the Internet and smartphones. However, he felt determined to rebuild his life after incarceration without relying on others.

Program SpotlightBruce WaltonFebruary 5, 2024homelessness, incarceration, Forensics Team, Diana Warman, Nikki Knepper

Program Spotlight: PATH

How do you find someone who needs help but has no address or consistent phone number and experiences severe symptoms of mental illness?

Randy, who had been unhoused for seven years, usually stayed at Public Square or by the tracks near West 25th Street. He was often nonverbal, he moved frequently, and he experienced hallucinations, delusions, depression, and mania.

Program Spotlight: North Point

“When they come through the door, in that moment, there is so much going on in their life that is all jumbled up in their head… you really don’t know where to start. North Point is where you can start over and find direction again.”

-Treveya Franklin, North Point Operations Manager

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?

Program Spotlight: Supported Employment

“With employment people think about money, but that’s never the main motivator for our clients—it’s about being part of the community.”

Samantha McKenzie Program Manager, Supported Employment

We tend to think of employment as a paycheck—but for most of us, it means more. Employment provides belonging and a sense of contributing to society. For people with histories of homelessness, extensive trauma, and mental illness, employment can also promote recovery and stability.

Program SpotlightBruce WaltonSeptember 7, 2023Supported Employment, Employment

Program Spotlight: Hope-Link

When someone is discharged from the hospital after attempting suicide, the first 24 hours can be the most vulnerable. The next twelve months can also be a period of elevated risk. Research consistently demonstrates that follow-up services after an Emergency Department visit or inpatient stay are critical to reducing deaths by suicide. While Cuyahoga County boasts one of the most robust healthcare networks in the country, until recently, there was no program in place to support children and adults during this vulnerable time.

In 2020, with support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, FrontLine Service launched Hope-Link, a program dedicated to supporting children and adults during the first year following an attempted or significant thoughts of suicide. FrontLine modeled Hope-Link after two successful pilot projects the agency ran in 2010 and 2017 in partnership with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation, respectively.

Program Spotlight: Stricklin Crisis Stabilization Unit

“A lot of clients who come in are a bit isolated. Everybody is here for different reasons, but they are all here for help. Here, they talk with each other in a safe, supportive environment and find that they’re not alone in their struggles.”

— Kara Poth, Associate Director of Crisis Services, Stricklin Crisis Stabilization Unit.

The Stricklin Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU), located on the west side of Cleveland, is a 15-bed, short-term treatment facility for those experiencing a behavioral health crisis. It is a voluntary program for adults who don’t require hospital admission but need a higher level of services to stabilize. The average stay lasts approximately 7 days.

Program SpotlightadminJune 30, 2023crisis, Stricklin Crisis Stabilization Unit

Program Spotlight: LGBTQI+ Shelter Diversion Program

In three days, Miss Z, a transgender woman, was going to be homeless. She’d been living in a hotel since losing her home six months earlier, but her savings were almost gone, and she could only afford three more nights.

A local social service provider had been working with Miss Z, but believed Miss Z might have experienced harassment (like many in the LGBTQ+ community) that made it difficult to trust traditional providers. So, they referred Miss Z to FrontLine’s LGBTQI+ Shelter Diversion Specialist, Cassadi Hanley.

Program Spotlight: Traumatic Loss Response Team & Camp Bridges

Before the sun was up, even though her shift wasn’t starting for hours, Kathy traveled to the scene of a homicide. Police had called FrontLine to assist a five-year-old and a seven-year-old at the scene who had witnessed the tragedy. Kathy spent hours with them in the back of a police car and at the hospital, keeping them safe and occupied. She was a calm, comforting presence at their worst moment.

Kathy is a member of FrontLine Service’s Traumatic Loss Response Team (TLRT). Since 2008, TLRT has helped Cuyahoga County families navigate the sudden loss of a loved one to homicide, suicide, or other traumatic event. Licensed clinicians, available 24/7, travel to wherever families need them to provide immediate support after a traumatic loss. The children Kathy supported are among the more than 1,000 individuals TLRT served in 2022.

Program SpotlightBruce WaltonJune 2, 2023trauma, Traumatic Loss Response Team, TLRT, Cleveland

Black Resiliency Group: A place to recharge

Just as your lunch break is needed to get through the rest of your day, bi-weekly meetings from the Black Resiliency group help our Black staff get through theirs.

Program SpotlightBruce WaltonApril 27, 2023

Safe Havens: The Houses of a Thousand Chances

If you have ever walked by someone lying on a grate on your way to a Cavaliers game, that person might now be a Safe Haven resident.

The Safe Havens are home to adults who have lived on the streets for years, plagued by hallucinations and other symptoms of mental illness.

For more than 25 years, the Safe Havens have encompassed two sites, an 8-bedroom house in Slavic Village and a 12-bedroom house in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood.

Program SpotlightBruce WaltonMarch 21, 2023Safe Haven, homelessness

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