While appointments are encouraged, vendors and visitors will be permitted at HQ or any EDEN site. Please call our main line 216-961-9690 for scheduling.
Visitors and vendors must adhere to all social distancing and COVID-19 requirements, including wearing a face covering. | Questions? Emailedeninfo@EDENcle.organd we will respond.

Housing is Our Foundation

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Meet Tim

Tim Tim called EDEN last week. “I just wanted to thank you and tell you I am doing great.”

Tim has always had a tremendous work ethic, and took great pride in his on-the-job efforts. For eleven years, he worked at a financial institution as a night check processor. When the organization downsized to become digital, he became a mailman. But when he was diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illness, his world fell apart. His work suffered. He lost his job. He lost his home. He tried living with his parents, but challenging family dynamics exacerbated his mental illness. He became homeless.

While Tim was living on the streets, a friend suggested he stay at a shelter, but the program did not offer mental health services. He tried to stay at another shelter, but again, his mental health issues kept him from stabilizing.

And then in 2012, Tim found EDEN. The agency placed Tim in his own apartment and connected him with Mental Health Services (now FrontLine Service). He was able to see a psychiatrist who fine-tuned his diagnosis and worked with him to adjust his medications.

“EDEN gave me exactly what I needed - a home and help with my illness,” he affirmed. Tim was able to apply for disability benefits, and six months later, he was able to pay a portion of the rent. Tim moved to an apartment near the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and lived there for three-and-a-half years. "It was quite a challenge for me, but by the grace of God, I did what I was supposed to do and didn't get involved with any negative things that could pull me down."

With his illness under control, Tim was able to find a sense of purpose again. He met a realtor who helped him to locate an affordable home. “Now I live in my own home, and I have a car.” He got job as a school guard for Constellation Schools in Old Brooklyn. Tim lost that job when COVID prevented in-person schools, but thankfully, his disability payments were sufficient to pay his expenses. Now that school is back in session, he is back to making sure the children get to school safely.

“I look back on that time, and I am so grateful for EDEN. I am so happy now, and I couldn’t have done it without the combination of a place to stay and help with my mental illness. Now, I want something to do to help me focus and give back.”

Tim is now volunteering for EDEN, and it is now we who are grateful ... and so proud of Tim for working so hard to stabilize his life.

Learn how you can help ...

Our Shared Priority: End Homelessness for Young Adults

Youth Data confirms that homelessness is a condition that impacts people of color and other minorities a a much higher rate than their representation in the population. Working towards racial equity is an essential part of the mission and values of EDEN and our organization strives to promote racial equity, both among staff and among those we serve.

We are working with FrontLine Service (FLS) and the YWCA to lead the initiative to reduce the over-representation of young adults of color in the homeless system and end their homelessness.

EDEN has been participating in a Race Equity Design Lab around young adult homelessness since July, 2017.

Along with our partners, YWCA of Greater Cleveland and FrontLine Service (FLS), we have youth been developing strategies to understand and address inequities that exist in our work. In 2018, we launched an anonymous agency wide survey and asked both our young adult clients and our staff to reply. We reviewed the responses along with our partner agencies in order to design the framework for us to implement improvements and modify our practices where necessary.

Our shared goal is to reduce the over-representation of young adults of color in the homeless system and end their homelessness by the end of 2021. We invite you to assist us in this worthy goal.

Learn more ...

KEEPING EVERYONE SAFE
COVID-19 Update

At EDEN, we're continually monitoring developing news of the spread of COVID-19, so that we can make necessary adjustments to our activities. Our top priority is the health and safety of our clients, staff, and partners.

While appointments are encouraged, vendors and visitors will be permitted at HQ or any EDEN site. Please call our main line 216-961-9690 for scheduling. If there is no answer, please leave a message and we will respond as quickly as possible.

Visitors are required to follow standard protective protocols: wear a mask, engage in social distancing, and wash hands frequently.

Click here for more information about how EDEN is responding to the pandemic and how you can keep you and your family safe and healthy.

Households

Young Adult Households

Family Households

30th Anniversary Annual Appeal

Annual Highlights:
2020 by the Numbers

During 2020, 4,522 households were served by EDEN, representing the highest total in EDEN's history.
Despite the challenges presented due to COVID-19, our staff fielded an average of 2,500 calls per week.
Close to 1,000 women were provided with emergency shelter at Norma Herr Women's Center.
EDEN opened Harper's Pointe in October, its 12th Permanent Supportive Housing building serving the chronically homeless. The building contains 71 one-bedroom apartments, including eight ADA handicap accessible units and two units with accessible features for residents with hearing and vision impairments, in the Brooklyn Centre Neighborhood.
The agency provided 967 households with Rapid-Rehousing throughout the year.
Our Information Systems Department equipped 100 new users for remote working and deployed 70 total new workstations (a 400% increase over normal years).
EDEN provided nearly 900 households with Homeless Prevention emergency support during 2020.

A Letter from EDEN's Executive Director

Dear Friends of EDEN:

Elaine Gimmel I hope this finds you well during this incredibly difficult time.

As I reflect upon the year in order to draft this annual message, January of 2020 seems like a lifetime ago.

Beginning in March, EDEN's daily operations underwent a whirlwind of change, from workplace locations, to staff responsibilities, to COVID protocols, to methods of service delivery, but through it all, our staff has risen to each challenge with ingenuity, resilience, fortitude, and unwavering dedication to EDEN's mission, and for that I am deeply grateful. These unprecedented times have required adaptability and flexibility from each and every member of the EDEN team, and I am beyond proud to work with so many incredible people, and tremendously thankful for their willingness to take everything in stride. EDEN staff have truly been unsung heroes in our region's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Throughout the year, we have been and will continue making diligent, informed decisions around COVID-19, maintaining constant contact with our participants, community partners, and funders in the process.

Sudden changes in our society due to the global pandemic have made many more people vulnerable than ever before. Amid an unprecedented public health and economic crisis, EDEN has increased the housing options and related supports for Cuyahoga County's at-risk populations, and we have delivered these vital services to the greatest number of households in the history of our agency. Like health care workers, first responders, grocery workers, and more, EDEN staff are essential workers during COVID-19 and beyond. Housing is always essential.

But while EDEN has stepped up to address a massive surge in demand for safety net services, meeting this challenge has resulted in unexpected costs and revenue reduction. For example, we could not celebrate the critically-important work we do with you at our Annual Event, this year, which raises vital operating support for our programs and services.

Your support of this year's Annual Fund Appeal will enable us to continue to maintain and innovate our operations, and buffer against some of the most serious health, economic, and social consequences of the pandemic for our community through the foundational provision of a place to call home for our neighbors in need.

As EDEN embarks upon its 30th Anniversary Year, I can affirm that EDEN is uniquely prepared to help our community navigate through both the immediate response to COVID-19 and the long-term rebuilding process that will follow.

While we may not know the depth of the challenges in front of us, I know that we are at our best when working together. We would be honored and grateful to partner with you in the essential work of providing housing--and achieving a healthier, stronger, and more equitable community for all.

Please accept my wishes for a peaceful and healthy season, and brighter days in 2021, for you and your loved ones.

Sincerely,

Elaine Gimmel
Executive Director

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