DCA’s Connections within Social Service Networks
The Downtown Clean & Safe team fosters an environment of inclusion, safety and support the wellbeing of all Downtown.
The bedrock for a safe, vibrant, and welcoming downtown is a quality of life that demonstrates wellness and well-being throughout its fabric. To that end, Downtown Cleveland Alliance has long invested in the social service safety net for everyone in Downtown Cleveland. We not only provide resources to augment city services, but more importantly, we fill in the gaps in an empathetic way with a focus on advocating for and taking care of underserved/disadvantaged individuals. We believe there is no single fix for the complex issues surrounding homelessness and mental health. Our goal is to address the problem in a comprehensive manner through various initiatives.
DCA’s Clean & Safe Program enhances the pedestrian experience through various services. We work collaboratively with many agencies to provide pathways to support those in need; provide a layered, unarmed uniformed presence in Downtown Cleveland; and to ensure that everyone who lives, works, and plays in Downtown feels safe in the public right of way. Our responsibility is to foster an environment of inclusion, safety, and support for the well-being of all.
In creating a cleaner and safer downtown, we staff two full-time outreach specialists in addition to our ambassador teams. Our outreach specialists provide transportation resources, collaborate with social service providers, assist those who need it in obtaining government identification, as well as help individuals, navigate the bureaucracy of the social service system. Our Outreach Team collaborates with Cuyahoga County, Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries, Frontline Services, Care Alliance, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, The City Mission, Medworks USA, Old Stone Church, City of Cleveland, and NEOCH to transport individuals into treatment for mental health and addiction on a voluntary basis. DCA is the only non-public safety entity authorized to transport individuals who chose to go to the Cuyahoga County Diversion Center.
This unprecedented authorization underscores the confidence our partners have in our ability to treat individuals with dignity and respect. Our team members perform wellness checks and are available to respond to requests for services while also working closely with social service providers to connect individuals to housing, medical, and mental health treatment.
Individuals who experience trauma deserve respectful and dignified social interactions. The need to build trust cannot be overstated. We have come to learn that gaining the trust of individuals with mental health, addiction and alcoholism requires a slow and steady interaction, often requiring several hundred contacts before an acceptance of help. Each Outreach Team member has numerous daily interactions and over time we have proven our ability to positively impact the lives of everyone Downtown.
Communication, collaboration, and creativity are the keys to our success. We have much more to do. However, through all the programs, we are filling gaps within the social service structure and finding ways to support.
Recent Partnerships + Programs
Cuyahoga County Diversion Center. As mentioned above, to add to our outreach bandwidth resource availability, and collaboration for the unsheltered, we advocated for and received approval to use the Cuyahoga County Diversion Center. The Diversion Center is a voluntary treatment facility for individuals experiencing mental health, addiction, and alcoholism problems, especially those with a dual diagnosis and was initially opened as a resource for low level criminal offenders in lieu of jail. We worked with the Alcohol, Drug, Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County (ADAMHS Board) to obtain permission to use the Center as another resource. This was unprecedented and enabled us to transport individuals into treatment on a voluntary basis. We are the only non-Public Safety that has received approval to access the Center. Within weeks of receiving approval the Outreach Team collaborated with NEOCH to voluntary transport the individual to the Center. He remained for treatment, was transferred to a permanent housing situation, and is currently employed.
Cleveland Foundation COVID Relief Fund In 2021 we were requested by the Cleveland Foundation COVID Relief Fund to be a hub partner in a hub and spoke model to encourage underserved individuals to receive the Covid-19 vaccination through a mass vaccination site operated by the Ohio National Guard and was held at the Wolstein Center. We also assisted partner entities such as Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, CARE Alliance, and the Cuyahoga County Metropolitan Housing Authority in providing vaccination availability through our oversight and management. Another opportunity to open communication, trust, and resources for the underserved and unsheltered in Cleveland.
Medworks One of our latest collaborations in 2022 is with Medworks, a non-profit medical provider for those experiencing homelessness and the Old Stone Church, a downtown Cleveland institution whose primary mission is to serve the underserved. We are partnering on a pop-up medical and mental health clinic for the unsheltered and underserved downtown. We held the first clinic in March, the first of seven, focusing on the homeless population downtown working to provide the needed primary medical and mental health care that can be so overwhelming for many.
St. Vincent Charity Hospital Also new for 2022 is a partnership with St. Vincent Charity Hospital, the downtown Cleveland Hospital whose mission once again is to serve those in need. St. Vincent offers a Psychiatric Emergency Department and mental health outpatient clinic where we will be directly transporting individuals seeking voluntary treatment, providing transportation to the outpatient clinic, and connecting hospital case managers with clients who have been resistive to treatment or unable to maintain a treatment schedule and care continuity.
Seeds Downtown Cleveland Alliance also has a dedicated workforce readiness program called Seeds, in collaboration with Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries and the City Mission. They provide clients who are prepared to take the steps to transition back into the workplace. Through a collaborative mentoring program, each client has the tools and support necessary to be successful in full-time employment. We are continuing to grow the program and have an average workforce of 16 individuals who are trained to do landscape maintenance work. We have had outstanding successes with this program – we currently have 8 individuals promoted to full-time employment as ambassadors. We have several contracts with downtown property owners to perform landscape maintenance on their properties. We are continuing to look for opportunities to add bandwidth and branch off into other job readiness specialties such as housekeeping and general building/property maintenance. This program is another opportunity for individuals to make the transition from homelessness to a stable environment through full-time employment.