Providence House breaks ground for east side campus
Providence House broke ground April 8 on its new 20-bed East Campus Crisis Nursery at 11801 Buckeye Road in Cleveland with representatives from the state, county and city in attendance.
With a location at 2050 W. 32nd St. in Cleveland, Providence House has been serving the west side of Cleveland since 1981, and the construction of the Buckeye Road location in the Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood will bring its services to the east side.
“Providence House has operated on the west side of Cleveland for over 40 years, and the demand for our services has grown significantly, and most of the unserved children are from east side neighborhoods,” Natalie A. Leek, president and CEO of Providence House, told the Cleveland Jewish News. “So we decided to expand to the east side and open a second location in Cleveland at our east campus.”
Many community leaders, partner organizations and elected officials attended the ground breaking ceremony and a few spoke to the crowd gathered of the importance of the new east side location. Speeches began with representatives from Providence House, including Greg Rush, board chair and Cleveland Browns CFO, and Leek. Executive assistant Jasmine Lastery spoke on behalf of U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown, D-Cleveland, who could not attend due to the U.S. Supreme Court confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Providence House’s new 20-bed east campus crisis nursery at 11801 Buckeye Road in Cleveland.
CJN Photo / Courtney Byrne
Ohio Sen. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, and State Rep. Tom Patton, R-Cleveland, represented the state of Ohio as they addressed the crowd. Cuyahoga County was represented by Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Yvonne Conwell, and the city of Cleveland had council president Blaine Griffin share his support.
Providence House is a nonprofit organization focused on family preservation and supporting children and families through crisis. The east side campus is located in the recently renovated Weizer Building in the Buckeye-Shaker Neighborhood.
“We will have a crisis nursery here to provide emergency shelter for children, newborn to five, whose families are in crisis situations, and at the same time, we’ll offer family support services on this site,” Leek said. “So, the goal is keep children safe, help families through crisis and reunite those families safely.”
Along with the crisis nursery, the east campus will also expand to include family resilience center, community hub and administrative offices. The new campus is a $15 million renovation and construction project that is funded by public and private partnerships.
Leek said Providence House has received support from the state of Ohio, city of Cleveland, private donors and private foundations in town.
“Our goal is $15 million,” Leek said. “We’re at about $10 million right now, but that was enough to trigger the construction of the crisis nursery.”
The Providence House east campus building is expected to be completed in January 2023 and be fully operational for children by early spring, 2023, Leek said.