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30 July 2004
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Community Women's
Shelter
An Emergency Room
Without Emergency Services.
The Community Women's Shelter provided safety, shelter, meals, and supportive services for 633 women and 161 children between February 2004 (when MHS assumed operation of the Shelter), and the end of June. |
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At its new site on Payne Avenue in downtown Cleveland, the Shelter is able to accommodate 135 women on bunk beds, and an additional 50 on mats.
In addition to serious mental disorders and physical illnesses that are untreated or inadequately treated, many women have arrived at the shelter with serious injuries or acute infections. Chronic addictions to alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and other substances are present in more than one-third of the women.
The consequences of untreated illnesses among those who are homeless were vividly demonstrated by a recent study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. This study showed that, among all women 18-44 years of age in Toronto, those who were homeless were ten times more likely to die during the next three years. Homelessness eradicated the "survival advantage" of females and the young. And the risks were largely ones that can be minimized by effective interventions for depression and drug use. |
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For a summary of the article on the MHS website, and a link to the full-text article, click here. |
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We understood that the women of our Community Women's Shelter shared many characteristics of the women described in the study, and would likely share many of the same risks. To help Shelter clients minimize these risks, our immediate responses were to double our nursing time, and to modify our procedures for the physical health assessment. Now, all women have access to a nurse who can conduct a Physical Health Assessment, and use the results to help the women obtain the medical and supportive services they need.
Because health risks are so strongly linked with maladaptive alcohol and drug use, we have sought additional funding to train our Shelter workers to provide evidence-based drug addiction treatment services. We are very pleased to report that United Way Services approved funding to MHS to help us accomplish this. We have already begun working with the Ohio Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Coordinating Center of Excellence to train staff members of the Community Women's Shelter and the Emergency Shelter for Disabled Men to implement the New Hampshire-Dartmouth Dual Disorders Integrated Treatment model. The State of Ohio has endorsed this model as the treatment of choice for persons with dual disorders because of the research evidence demonstrating its impact on improving outcomes. |
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Utilization of the Community Women's Shelter has increased since MHS began operating it in February, as shown by the graph above. Average age of the adult women using the shelter in the time span depicted was 38 years. Average age of the 85 girls and 76 boys who stayed at the shelter was 6 years. Average length of stay was 25 days.
Among homeless women using the shelter, approximately 75% have been assaulted at some time in their lives, 35% had a current psychiatric disorder, and 40% had a current alcohol or drug addiction. |
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Funding partners for the Community Women's Shelter are the Board of Cuyahoga County Commissioners, through the County's Department of Health and Human Services; the Cleveland and Cuyahoga County Office of Homeless Services; the City of Cleveland (Community Development Block Grant, and Emergency Shelter Grant Program); The State of Ohio; the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and the Federal Emergency Management Administration. Emerald Development and Economic Network, Inc. (EDEN) renovated and manages the two buildings on Payne Avenue that house the shelter and program operations. EDEN is a private, nonprofit housing development agency.
Other community providers of shelter and transitional housing services are important collaborators. They include the East Side Catholic Shelter, West Side Catholic Shelter, Zelma George Shelter, Salvation Army Women's Shelter, Angeline Christian Home, Domestic Violence Center, Continue Life and Interfaith Hospitality Network, Westhaven Youth Shelter, AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland, Family Transitional Housing, Transitional Housing, and University Settlement. Another important partner is the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, because of the high proportion of Shelter program participants who have been victims of sexual assaults.
MHS maintains affiliation agreements with community mental health centers, health clinics, hospitals, providers of alcohol and drug abuse treatment services, and social service providers throughout Cuyahoga County. By clearly defining referral protocols and service arrangements, these agreements help clients to obtain easy and reliable access to the care and services they need, and help staff members to effectively coordinate these services.
The Cleveland and Cuyahoga County Office of Homeless Services created, directs, and monitors the community's continuum of care for homeless individuals. MHS has been pleased to be one of the 18 agencies that help the community achieve an effective continuum of care for its homeless members. |
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