Because housing alone isn’t enough!
Reaching beyond bricks and mortar, Cleveland Housing Network (CHN) complements its affordable housing with a wide array of critical services so that families can become self-sufficient and successful homeowners.
Family Support Specialists:
Many of the families CHN serves are fragile, often on the brink of returning to welfare or becoming homeless. CHN employs qualified and experienced social service professionals to work closely with families living in CHN homes so that they can successfully pull themselves out of poverty. Critical to fulfilling the mission of CHN, Family Support Specialists provide the following services:
- In-depth Case Management
- Community Resource and Referral
- Employment Assistance
- Financial Education & Mentoring
- Government Benefits Advocacy
Homelessness Prevention:
Faced with life-altering changes in circumstance such as the loss of a job or a medical emergency, CHN residents may have nowhere to turn for support. In order to help them through unanticipated crises, CHN provides a critical safety net for families to prevent eviction and possible homelessness. CHN residents can access emergency rent and utility assistance to help them weather the crisis and remain on track for homeownership. CHN administers this funding from competitive grants from the State of Ohio and Cuyahoga County and directly applies it to assist families in need endure a crisis that threatens their ability to remain housed This short-term (up to three months) financial assistance is tied to “wrap around” case management services, so that families develop a plan to weather the crisis, and prevent disruptions in the future.
Transitional Housing Program:
After completing an emergency shelter stay or inpatient drug treatment program, families with children are referred to CHN’s Transitional Housing Program. CHN provides up to five families with housing and intensive supportive services for up to two years. During their stay, families must meet regularly with the Family Support Specialist to work on an individual goal plan to address the issues and barriers they have to self-sufficiency so that homelessness can be prevented in the future.
Supportive Housing Program:
After completing an extended homeless shelter stay or drug treatment program, families are referred to CHN’s Supportive Housing Program. This two-year program provides families with children the opportunity to secure a permanent home and receive in-depth case management services. This integrative approach coupling an affordable home with supportive services ensures that families will successfully avoid a return to homelessness and gain the opportunity to eventually own their home. Upon completion of the two-year program, graduates are encouraged to pursue homeownership through CHN’s nationally modeledLease Purchase program.
