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Y-Haven Executive Director Ed Gemerchak, left, and resident Darryl Wilson discuss Y-Haven's role and the effect of a big cut in federal funding.

(Michael K. McIntyre/PD)

Y-Haven, which shelters 113 homeless addicted men in Cleveland, is in trouble after a massive cut in federal funding. It is pleading for donation to care for its residents until the fall, when a plan for a different funding source would be in place.

Ed Gemerchak, Y-Haven's executive director, said the nonprofit was stunned this month to learn that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development decided to defund Y-Haven, which is located in the Carl B. Stokes Social Services Mall on Woodland Avenue The cut means means the loss of 75 percent of Y-Haven's funding, $844,000.

Worse than the loss of funding was the short notice, said Gemerchak.

"We were given 28 days' notice to find housing for 113 guys in our program. It's quite a shock," he said.

Gemerchak is confident his plan to keep Y-Haven open will succeed, but he noted that if it were to close, its residents would need to seek other options, including already maxed out emergency shelters. And the intensive services for addiction and other issues might not be as well coordinated.

Chip Joseph, who recently retired after decades at Y-Haven, said the cut is hard to understand because Y-Haven had been praised by HUD and given awards of excellence and outstanding performance.

"Landlords give you 90 days' notice when they evict someone. Here's HUD, which deals with ending homelessness, and they give 28 days to an organization they've funded for years?" said Joseph.

Transitional housing provides a temporary dwelling for people who have been homeless and offers intensive on-site services such as addiction treatment, job training and life skills instruction. It's considered more expensive than permanent supportive housing, and HUD has been shifting its priorities for years toward permanent housing.

Y-Haven, affiliated with the Cleveland YMCA, provides homes in a building which the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority makes available rent free and offers addiction treatment and other social services.

HUD did not actually cut overall funding in Northeast Ohio, but because of its move away from transitional housing programs, it dropped Y-Haven from the county's application for funding.

Cleveland/Cuyahoga County Office of Homeless Services ranked homeless services to arrive at a funding request for HUD this year. That resulted in the elimination of one of the Salvation Army's transitional housing programs, Railton, from its request for funds under HUD's Continuum of Care grant program. There was plenty of advance notice.

Y-Haven and another transitional housing initiative, the Salvation Army's PASS Program, which houses 75 men at 1701 Prospect Ave., made it on to the county's application. But this month HUD mostly favored permanent housing, as opposed to transitional, when it awarded $355 million in funding for 1,200 housing and services programs.

The PASS program was funded by the federal agency; Y-Haven lost out.

"Y-Haven scored very high in our continuum. They always have, there is not a problem there," said Ruth Gillett, who manages the county's Homeless Services office. Still, Y-Haven was submitted for funding in the second of two rounds of HUD grants, and the most competitive one.

HUD Spokesman Brian Sullivan said the agency still funds some transitional housing programs, but will continue to favor the permanent housing approach because it is a less expensive way to work toward the goal of ending homelessness. Some transitional programs were funded and many lost out.

"It's extremely competititve, more competitive than ever," he said. Four hundred communities submitted applications. HUD had funds to support 1,200 projects, but was not able to fund another 1,100. "In essence, we were able to fund just over half of the projects we got," Sullivan said.

Still, Gemerchak was flummoxed.

"They made their decision despite our county's recommendation," he said. "The continuum of care in Cleveland needs Y-haven to be open. We serve the highest need, most vulnerable men in our community, many of them have severe mental illness, they all have addiction."

There's no way to change HUD's decision, so Gemerchak is looking forward. Y-Haven provides addiction and mental health services, so it also is eligible for Medicaid funding. That shift from HUD to Medicaid already was in the works.

"But we thought we'd have a year to do that," said Gemerchak.

Instead, he's seeking bridge funding to keep operations at full strength until September, when he believes the Medicaid switch -- now on an accelerated schedule -- can be completed. The YMCA of Greater Cleveland, with which Y-Haven is associated, has told him they'll work to keep the place open, "But they need the financing, they need help."

There's a lot of work to be done. Instead of a single monthly check from HUD, Y-Haven will have to develop a clinical billing system for each of the services and instances of services provided its clients.

With the help of the Office of Homeless Services, Y-Haven has been reaching out to various organizations for funding. The Cleveland Foundation, the Gund Foundation, the city of Cleveland and the Cuyahoga County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Board are among those whose help is being sought. Gemerchak said $250,000 would be needed.

"The key there is that we are not asking them to take up the entire $844,000 in funding. We are asking for some assistance in bridging the program until the Medicaid is able to be fully implemented," said Gillett.

Darryl Wilson, a resident of Y-Haven since February, said he's finally sober and working to equip himself for a custodial job. He said without the transitional housing model, he'd be in trouble.

"With my alcoholism, if I got housing, I wouldn't have it for long without the tools and treatment here. I'd go back to my old ways," he said. "If this place closed, I'd be back at the City Mission (homeless shelter.) Actually, I'd be back on the street. That's scary."