Neighborhood Alliance to break ground on $5 million Haven Center shelter expansion

Neighborhood Alliance will break ground on its $5 million expansion of the Haven Center emergency shelter on East 30th Street in Lorain today. Neighborhood Alliance President and CEO Alicia Foss, Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley, Lorain County commissioners Michelle Hung, David Moore and Jeff Riddell and representatives from the Nordson Corporation Foundation, Nord Family Foundation, The Stocker Foundation, Norton Family Foundation and 100 Women Who Care About Lorain County will move the first ceremonial shovelfuls of dirt at 1536 E. 30th St. at 10 a.m. Construction will begin immediately on the 9,262-square-foot expansion to the existing shelter building. It is expected to be completed by June, Foss said Tuesday. The Haven Center is the only emergency shelter for families in Lorain County. It houses 68 men, women and children who share two dorm-style bath and shower rooms. Seven unrelated adults share each of the eight existing dorm rooms, according to Neighborhood Alliance. The expansion will include new dorm rooms, each with its own bathroom and shower. The shelter will be expanded from four family bedrooms to nine, which will adjoin when needed to accommodate larger families, the agency said. A separate wing including a living room and kitchenette will be created just for families. The current L-shaped building will be enclosed to create a courtyard and playground for families and children to have a safe outdoor space, Foss said. "And because the courtyard will be enclosed, children will no longer have to endure the trauma of going outside through security and metal detectors," she said in a news release. A separate entrance for the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Projects for Assistance in Transition, or PATH program, will be created with a drop-in center so unsheltered people can get a hot shower, meal and supplies. PATH funds services for people with serious mental illness who are experiencing homelessness. Neighborhood Alliance is the only provider of homeless outreach in Lorain County, and provides housing retention and homelessness prevention through its newly launched affiliation with the national organization Family Promise. "I discovered all the beneficial work accomplished by the Neighborhood Alliance and the need (they) had for temporary supportive housing for our residents requiring food and shelter. During COVID, I toured the Haven Center and observed firsthand the challenge people working at the center experienced as well as the hardships residents were having due to the inadequate facilities at the center," Bradley said in a news release. "I pledged to those at Neighborhood Alliance that the city would do all it could to improve the situation and through the blessing of American Rescue (Plan Act) funds from the federal government, I am proud that the city was able to fulfill the pledge that I made. Good government means not only providing for all of our citizens but also stepping up when the need is apparent for the less fortunate in our community," he said. Funding At its meeting Tuesday, the county Board of Commissioners awarded a construction contract worth $2,741,456 to North Coast Design Build LLC of Sheffield Lake for the project. Neighborhood Alliance said $500,000 in ancillary expenses will make the total cost of the expansion phase $3.2 million, with another $1.8 million in renovation costs making the total $5 million. Commissioners helped secure $1 million in state funds; the Nordson Corporation, Nord Family, Stocker and Norton Family foundations donated or pledged $1 million; Bradley and Lorain City Council chipped in $900,000 in ARPA funding; and a final $300,000 for the expansion phase came from the Neighborhood Alliance Board of Directors, Ben and Jane Norton, 100 Women Who Care About Lorain County, the Nordson Corporation and its employees, and various other donors, Neighborhood Alliance said. Ron Cocco, president of Clark & Post Architects Inc. in Lorain and the lead architect on the project, told commissioners the Haven Center is the only one of its kind in Lorain County. "The county is woefully inadequate in terms of caring for these individuals and providing them safe and respite location for their families," he said. The agency is "very excited and pleased" that the project has gone the way it has so far, Foss told commissioners on Tuesday. The funding must be spent by December 2024 but "we'll be done by then," she said. "The sooner the better," Foss said. Funds raised from the Community Foundation of Lorain County's "Connect to a Cause Day" on Sept. 21 also will support the Haven Center. To donate and learn more go to myneighborhoodalliance.org/building-renovation-project. Tours of any Neighborhood Alliance location can be scheduled by emailing Danielle Locke at DanielleL@myneighborhoodalliance.org. Storm damage Even as the groundbreaking takes place, the Haven Center is closed due to damage from the severe storms that struck Lorain County Aug. 23-25. Neighborhood Alliance said the lower level of the shelter flooded with 2 feet of water and sewage. The shelter was evacuated and 75 percent of the residents — approximately 55 people — were placed in temporary off-site locations while others found shelter independently. The lower level includes a dining area, kitchen, laundry, offices, lockers, and storage. Six HVAC units, three washing machines, three dryers, four refrigerators, two water heaters, two freezers, all the flooring, cabinetry, lockers and residents' personal belongings were destroyed. Flood remediation began last week, and Foss and her staff are working with restoration teams, insurance companies and the Lorain County Continuum of Care to make repairs — though it is unknown when restoration will be completed and the shelter can return to normal operations, Neighborhood Alliance said. The temporary closure "puts a tremendous burden on the entire homeless system in Lorain County as Neighborhood Alliance's Haven Center has the only emergency shelter beds for families as well as women who are not experiencing intimate partner abuse," the agency said in a news release. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.