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Community
Women's Shelter
Emergency shelter and supportive services for homeless women.
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Homeless women and children come to the Community Women's Shelter for emergency shelter and supportive services. Many women have not been accepted by other shelter providers because of untreated mental illness, personality disorders, and substance-use disorders. The Shelter has 135 beds, and can accomodate another 50 women on mats. It is located on Payne Avenue in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, just north of the Cleveland State University Campus.
In addition to serious and untreated mental disorders, many shelter clients have conduct and anxiety disorders that arise from experiences of physical and sexual abuse. Many women have had repeated episodes of homelessness, and some have been homeless for years. Nearly all have severed or strained relationships with family members and friends, and have no other resources.
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MHS is a major partner in a collaborative project of evidence-based interventions to help homeless women with substance-use disorders. Learn more about this initiative!
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MHS Program Outcomes »
Community Women's Shelter
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During its most recent program year that ended 31 August 2007, the Community Women's Shelter served 857 adult women, and 184 children. Average age of the women was 39 years; of the children, 6 years. The average number of women and children served each day was 97; the range was 74-147. About 75% of the women had been assaulted at some time in their lives; 35% had a current psychiatric disorder; and 40% had an alcohol or drug addiction.
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Average length of stay for all women and children was 32 days. Many women have had repeated episodes of homelessness, and some have been homeless for years. Approximately 9% had income from employment, and 21% had Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Income. About 20% received money intermittently from family members or relatives. Half had no source of income. Many had not completed high school, or earned a GED.
During the program year, 168 of the women moved back with their families; 64 moved into permanent housing; 15 moved into transitional housing, and 42 women with children transferred to another shelter better suited to meet the needs of homeless families. The average length of stay of those who left the Shelter during the year was 58 days.
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Shakenya Harris is Office Manager for the Community Women's Shelter. Among her many tasks are to see that intake and outcome data have been recorded and entered for all Shelter clients. Because the Shelter served more than 1,600 clients in its first operational year, hers is a demanding job. Before going to the Shelter, she served as an Information Specialist for MHS homeless assistance and crisis services, where her energy and organization made her an important resource.
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The primary goals of the Community Women's Shelter are to provide safe shelter and nutritious meals for homeless women, to help them achieve health and permanent housing by providing supportive and psychiatric services, and to promote their health, recovery, and independence, by linking women with service providers in the community.
Many services are provided by Shelter staff members. For other needs, staff members link participants with community providers of medical, trauma intervention, counseling, and substance-use treatment services. Services are designed to help program participants learn the value and rewards of self-responsibility, in particular the value of taking responsibility for one's health and conduct. Participants learn skills for managing chronic physical and mental disorders, and for recovery from alcohol and drug dependence. They learn or re-learn the basic living skills needed for successful independence, including personal hygiene, household maintenance, the selection, preparation, and storage of food, and the management of income. The development of interpersonal, social, and parenting skills is also emphasized. Enhanced skill proficiency leads to enhanced self-efficacy that motivates further learning. Program staff members respect the choices and perceived needs of program participants, are responsive to participants' ethnic characteristics and cultural beliefs, and support a participant's freedom to choose among alternative interventions and providers.
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Describing the decision by MHS to pursue this new program, MHS Executive Director Steven M. Friedman, Ph.D., stated
"The commitment of MHS is to create partnerships that will help end homelessness in our community. Our original mission was to serve homeless persons who had a mental illness. As we grew, our mission expanded to include persons who have a broad range of disabilities, such as a developmental disability or a debilitating medical condition. With the incorporation of the Community Women’s Shelter into our agency, we are expanding our mission once again to include all in our community who are homeless, regardless of whether or not he or she has a disability."
Susan Neth, MHS Director of Homeless Services, states that fostering partnerships with County officials and with all of the community’s homeless assistance providers is a guiding principle in the development of the Shelter’s policies.
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Community Women's Shelter
Utilization Data
Review utilization data for the first two quarters of Shelter operation, or for the 21 months of February 2004 to October 2005.
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To learn about other MHS programs providing coordinated care
for homeless persons with disabilities, click on the links below.
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Outcomes of Care
To examine the remarkable outcomes achieved by clients who have participated in MHS Homeless Assistance programs, click here.
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How many are homeless
in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA?
Click here for recent counts and estimates.
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Copyright ©
Mental Health Services for Homeless Persons, Inc. (MHS)
1744 Payne Avenue; Cleveland, Ohio 44114 U.S.A.
216-623-6555 - TTY/TDD: 216-623-6540
The URL of this page is
http://www.mhs-inc.org/CWS.asp
It was most recently updated on 5 February 2008.
We welcome your comments.
Please write to Joel[at]mhs-inc.org
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