Nonprofits get $160,000 boost from Lorain County commissioners

ELYRIA — Lorain County commissioners gave $160,000 on Wednesday to help nonprofits recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and expand services. The grants come from the American Rescue Plan Act passed by Congress last year. Funding will be used to provide access to health care, emergency housing and rent and food relief, just making sure residents can survive. But a big chunk will ensure that children get the care they need, and exposure to fine arts, summer camps, education and sports mentoring. The MAD Factory The MAD Factory, based in Oberlin and Lorain, received $15,000. The theater company stages four full-length productions each year, evening drama classes and both in-school and after-school programming. Director Amber Michalak said The MAD Factory steeply dropped its prices to make sure that families struggling with inflation could still be involved. The organization is working with children, teenagers and adult dementia patients, providing an emotional outlet after the hardships of the past two years. "We are trying to reach as many people as possible," she said. With a budget of $200,000, it's just making ends meet, Michalak said. During the depths of the pandemic, The MAD Factory took a huge financial hit as ticket sales plummeted and shows were canceled. It's also struggling to afford renovations for a building purchased in Lorain in 2019, right before the pandemic began. The situation is starting to turn around, but it is far from being back to normal: "People are still very scared. They're still afraid to go out, or they don't have money because of gas prices to go see shows," Michalak said. Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra The Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra, based in Oberlin, received $10,000 to retain its conducting staff. According to Director Colin Holter, most conductors and coaches are educators who give their off-time to keep five ensembles and two summer camps going. He said the ARPA grant would supplement the NOYO annual budget of $250,000 to prevent losing those conductors, since there has been significant turnover in public school jobs that could woo some away. "For the kids today, so much is lost on the music front, getting them engaged and getting them into music," said Commissioner Michelle Hung, throwing her support behind Holter's nonprofit. Next Level Images Athletic Academy Next Level Images Athletic Academy, based in Lorain, received $5,000 to mentor the city's youths. Director Douglas Taylor said the money will offset the cost of equipment and gymnasium rentals. His organization provides sports training, keeps kids in shape and teaches them about the power of positive decisions. "I am a firm believer that sports are a magnet to a lot of the children in our area," Taylor said. Place to Recover Training & Resource Center Place to Recover Training & Resource Center of Elyria received $25,000. The community center helps residents apply for rent and utility assistance and prepare for jobs, and provides transportation to government offices, said Director Wendy Caldwell. Her focus is on former prisoners reentering society, displaced workers and those struggling with mental illness or recovering from substance abuse. The county's ARPA grant will specifically be used to help people who are homeless. Caldwell said she put more than $8,000 into hotel room rentals for 12 people who had nowhere to live. "I eventually leased a house because the homeless situation is so bad. I'm putting individuals from the reentry population in that workforce house and connecting them to employment," she said. People can live in the house for 90 days to get back on their feet and find permanent housing, she said. Safety Service Fundraising Inc. Safety Service Fundraising Inc. of Wellington received $15,000 to provide backpacks, suitcases and hygienic supplies to children who are removed from their homes through no fault of their own. President Steve Neff, a retired first responder, said he works with police, firefighters and paramedics to provide supply bags to kids taken from homes where there are extreme problems. "It's kind of heartbreaking to see that a lot of these kids have nothing. We've seen that children don't even have toothbrushes or understand what toothbrushes are," he said. Harrison Cultural Community Centre Harrison Cultural Community Centre in Lorain received $25,000 for youth programming. Director Vonisha Isom-Massey said ARPA funding will allow the organization to offer family engagement services and expand programs. She is the sole paid staff of the nonprofit, which has an annual budget of $85,000. Hearts of Patriots Elyria-based Hearts of Patriots received $10,000 to provide services to Lorain County veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. The money will help support caregivers "in the trenches" holding families together, said Director Denise Weller. "The caregiver is at the heart of our name and is at the heart of the family," she said. "We recognize that in order for these families to stay together, that caregiver has to be supported, reinforced and validated or they do not have the energy to stay in the game." Veterans living with mental health challenges often have erratic employment, Weller said. Their spouses are often unable to work when there are children to care for at home. Heart of Patriots helps them make home repairs, replace old appliances and get kids into athletics and the arts. There are roughly 8,000 disabled veterans in Lorain County, Weller said, "in many ways a hidden population" that tends to keep its difficulties a secret. "But they're here. We know they're here," she said. Lorain County Free Clinic The Lorain County Free Clinic received $10,000 to provide medical services to people in need. Director Paul Baumgartner said patients who have lost medical insurance or can't maintain it live in anxiety and fear. "We all know that one trip to the hospital, whether it be the ER or perhaps an overnight stay, can set people back a very long time," he said. "That's what we want to try to help prevent." Free clinic patients range from age 19 to 65, too young for Medicare and not impoverished enough to qualify for Medicaid, Baumgartner said. Many have chronic health conditions, such as diabetes. Life-saving insulin to treat diabetes is expensive in the United States, easily running $1,000 per month without insurance. Baumgartner said the ARPA grant will help pay for medications and to upgrade exam rooms and reception areas to be more hygienic, welcoming and safer. The Lorain County Free Clinic is also preparing for a flood of patients in 2023, when pandemic-related government benefits expire. Many people are expected to exit the Medicaid rolls, which Baumgartner said is bound to place stress on the clinic and local emergency departments. Catholic Charities Diocese of Cleveland Catholic Charities Diocese of Cleveland received $5,000 in ARPA funds from commissioners. Erica Lasion, who runs prevention services for the nonprofit, said it offers a family center for shelter and hot meals in Lorain, and mental health services and prevention services in Elyria. Catholic Charities' main mentoring service is for children ages 8-18. The organization works with the juvenile court, Elyria Schools, Lorain County Children Services and other agencies to introduce kids to art and music, martial arts and horseback riding. Lasion said the ARPA grant will be used to expose youth to opportunities they might not otherwise have. "The isolation (from the COVID-19 pandemic) really has taken a toll on youth," she said. "… What we've run into is children who are displaying behaviors toward their peers that we haven't seen before, not really understanding how to connect." Firelands Association for the Visual Arts The Firelands Association for the Visual Arts, based in Oberlin, received $15,000 to rebuild programming and update equipment. Director Kathleen Jackson said FAVA galleries get about 1,800 visits and provide education for 350 people per year. It teaches about jewelry making, fiber arts, drawing, painting, sculpting and other mediums through classes and summer camps. FAVA also gives out about $4,000 each year in scholarships to help people attend despite financial hardships. But earned income has dropped by 74 percent since the pandemic started, Jackson said. Healing Companions Inc. Healing Companions Inc. of Oberlin was awarded $5,000 to provide psychiatric service dogs to patients. Founder Jane Miller is a psychotherapist who has trained dogs her entire life. "We're not only saving the lives of shelter dogs, we're transforming the lives of people with mental illness, which is really amazing when you think about it," she told commissioners. Miller said all the therapy in the world might not get a person out of bed in the morning, but a dog will — she trains them to care for patients' specific symptoms. For example, a therapy dog may learn to wake up their owner from a nightmare, provide food to their person with an eating disorder or lead someone having a panic attack out of a busy grocery store. FireFish Arts Inc. FireFish Arts Inc. of Lorain was granted $10,000 to support free access to the arts. It provides year-round youth and community programming. "COVID impacted us greatly. We lost our major sponsors. We lost about $50,000 to $60,000 of revenue each year that it happened," Director Joan Perch said. The organization's annual budget is about $150,000, she said, with the bulk going to artists and educators. "We really do look at artists as business people. We look at them as worthy of being paid for their work," and their impact on the economy, Perch said. The FireFish Festival, held this past Saturday, gave an estimated $91,000 infusion into downtown Lorain's economy, she said, with artist vendors generating an additional $84,000 in income. Common Ground Common Ground in Camden Township received $10,000 to offset pandemic-related losses, keep programs rolling and make repairs on its 30-acre property. Director Kenneth Fraelich said it took a $120,000 hit to earned revenue in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions. Revenue has started to rebound, but he said it will take three to five years for finances to stabilize. Common Ground runs summer camps, takes social and emotional programs into Lorain County schools, hosts team-building retreats, operates ziplines and holds an annual firewalk. Fraelich said it has five full-time and two part-time staff and hires 30-40 seasonal workers each year who welcome 5,550 to 6,000 visitors. Hung, a Republican, and fellow Commissioner Matt Lundy, a Democrat, voted in favor of each ARPA grant. Commissioner David Moore, a Republican, voted "present" on all but one. He supported the Lorain County Free Clinic request, immediately saying he made a mistake but made no attempt to retract his vote. Jason Hawk can be reached at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.