At first, 8-year-old Maria didn't seem to understand.
Her family was being evicted from their home in Cleveland. Her mother was 3 months without a job and couldn't find another. No longer able to pay the $600 rent on the two-bedroom apartment that they had called home for the past two years, there was no 'new place' available to go to this time.
"I never thought this would happen to us - not in a million years" Maria’s mom says as her daughter puts on her school clothes: Jeans. A pink Old Navy T-shirt. A hoodie with hearts. Maria waits outside as her mom locks the door and the family leaves quietly with no idea of where they will be sleeping tonight......
That day, Maria, her mother, and her younger brother joined the unhappy ranks of American families who experience homelessness — a group that includes one child out of every 50 in America, according to the National Center on Family Homelessness. This story represents just one of many that bring individuals and families to the West Side Catholic Center. For 33 years, help has been available just inside our doors at W. 32nd and Lorain Avenue in Cleveland. The friendly, welcoming faces of our staff and volunteers provide a warm welcome to anyone in need. Anyone. Also waiting is a warm meal. Fresh clothes. Hospitality. Safety. A bed to rest in tonight, and a place to begin to rebuild the future tomorrow.
It happens with your help. One life at a time.
Give now to the 2010 Annual Appeal
$25 provides a homeless person with meals, shower and phones and outerwear $50 provides six bags of clothing, a baby crib, formula and diapers for a new family $100 provides shelter, meals and personal items for a mother and her three children $500 provides emergency assistance rent and utilities for Shelter graduates $1,000 provides a family a permanent home with case management
Our Mission
Grounded in faith, hope, love and respect for those we serve, the West Side Catholic Center assists all who come in need of food, clothing, shelter and advocacy.
The West Side Catholic Center offers hospitality, hot meals, a women and children's shelter, clothing, household goods, advocacy and emergency services to those in need at no charge. The West Side Catholic Center relies on hundreds of volunteers to maintain its services. Our volunteers consist of individuals, church and civic groups, student organizations, and area businesses.
31% of Cleveland's residents and almost half of Cleveland's children live in poverty. Cries for help include: food and medication, lack of heat and water, homelessness, help in search of a job, lack of transportation...these are just some of the critical needs that we address at the Center each day.
Community support includes partnerships with other food and emergency service providers, such as many other churches and faith-based organizations. We are a United Way Partner, members of the Cleveland Food Bank and we receive food donations from Harvest for Hunger, as well as regular deliveries of in-kind donations and grocery surplus from local businesses throughout Greater Cleveland.
Click here for a WSCC brochure and ways you can help
The West Side Catholic Center was established in 1977 by several area churches that saw a critical need within the community due to extreme poverty. We are a unique, private, not-for-profit agency with Catholic roots, independent of the Catholic Diocese and Catholic Charities.
Our programs respond to the needs of men, women, and children in Cleveland, regardless of their religious affiliation, and WSCC has no geographical limits on its service area. All services are provided free of charge. Collaborative partners include the Cleveland Veterans Association, the Cuyahoga County Office on Homeless Services, Y-Haven, Applewood, Providence House, Salvation Army, Care Alliance, Recovery Resources, Seeds of Literacy, Murtis Taylor Mental Health Services and the State ID Collaborative.
For thirty two years, the West Side Catholic Center has been a place of welcome. Impoverished, homeless, ill and disconnected persons find a home at the corner of West 32nd and Lorain. With an outpouring of community support, the West Side Catholic Center has been able to grow that "welcome" into "welcome home".
The Zacchaeus Housing Solutions Program currently provides homes to 32 families; over 130 men, women and children. This new program for 2008 joins the eight programs of the Drop-in Center and the Women and Children's Shelter.
Bringing Hope to a City....One Life at a Time.
The West Side Catholic Center is an independent, non-denominational 501c3 organization Privacy Policy
