Posted July 15, 2022
Earlier this year, Lorain County built Bridge Pointe Commons, a new permanent supportive housing complex for those who are disabled and have experienced homelessness.
Many organizations such as PIRHL, Nord Family Foundation, Emerald Development & Economic Network (EDEN) Inc.,The Nord Center, Lorain Metropolitan Housing Authority, (LMHA) and the Mental Health, and Addiction & Recovery Services Board of Lorain County (MHARS) collaborated to make this housing project come to life.
This is the first complex of its size and can house up to 62 residents in Elyria, many of which that came from Catholic Charities’ St. Elizabeth Center.
“We were able to house approximately 40 individuals in this new Bridge Pointe facility… it was a very extensive application process,” Amber Bundy, Director of Catholic Charities Lorain County said.
St. Elizabeth allows clients to keep working with their case manager if they choose when they move into the new facility.
Gaining trust with these individuals is very important in order to help them as much as possible.
“They start working with us from the ground up, and they develop trust with us, so once they’re housed, they want to continue with us,” Bundy said.
One client that stands out to Bundy is a man who has a chronic mental illness and no income. Because of Bridge Pointe, this man now has a place to call home after six years of being in shelters.
“Without us intervening, he [the client] would continue to live in a shelter if places like Bridge Pointe weren’t developed,” Bundy said.
Facilities like Bridge Pointe are able to get people out of shelters and into permanent homes. This also helps open up spaces in shelters for others who may be experiencing homelessness.
“Bridge Pointe is important because we have a very large homeless population here in Lorain County.” Bundy said, “By opening Bridge Pointe we are able to house some of the individuals from the shelter, and then it opens up those beds for more people to come in.”
For more information about the emergency assistance programs, click on the button below.
Part of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland
