Helping the Homeless

“This is the first time, nationally, that a group of schools has partnered with IHN to provide overnight shelter for homeless families,” said Sarah Cruise, executive director of IHN of Greater Cleveland. “With CCIS schools serving as hosts, students and parents come together to welcome these families and help them in a direct and meaningful way." 

The Cleveland IHN network includes over 70 churches, synagogues, and community organizations. In January, Laurel School served as the first school to host IHN guest families as part of the CCIS collaboration. 

Three rooms at University School’s Shaker Campus were transformed into comfortable, private sleeping quarters for the guest families. Every evening, host families from one of the CCIS schools served and joined them for a home-cooked dinner, followed by time together for companionship and evening activities. A new set of host families stayed with the guests overnight and assisted with breakfast the next morning. 

During the day, IHN transported guest children to and from the school they attended before becoming homeless, and took families to its Shaker Heights Family Center where young children are cared for while the adults work to regain employment, housing and self-sufficiency. 

Between 30 and 50 volunteers are needed to complete the various tasks involved with hosting a family each night for a week. All volunteers are trained by IHN in advance. Some families volunteer as a unit, while others volunteer individually. 

IHN is a 60-day program that provides emergency stabilization, rapid re-housing, and other support services to families in need from throughout the Cleveland community. Over 80 percent of families are placed in stable housing after completing IHN’s program.