New Home Found For Shelter Plagued By Mold

$1.5 Million Project To Be Completed Within 20 Months

POSTED: 6:02 p.m. EST December 16, 2002

CLEVELAND — Officials said that mold has been attacking the county’s shelter for homeless women and children, creating a dangerous environment. 

NewsChannel5’s Joe Pagonakis reported that the city of Cleveland teamed up with Cuyahoga County on Monday to announce a badly needed solution: that a new location for the shelter has finally been found.

Twelve public hearings were held to find the East 18th Street shelter a new location, but none of the Cleveland neighborhoods wanted it — until Monday.

The mold was caused by a leaky roof and poor ventilation. Health officials called the facility unacceptable, even though the mold was not of the highly dangerous black variety.

The city announced Monday that the shelter will be moved to Cleveland’s First United Methodist Church. The Rev. Ken Chalker will oversee the $1.5 million project.

"We’ll reconfigure our cafeteria area," he said. "These will be new facilities. We’ll have showers and a new laundry area for this population."

Officials said that $500,000 will come from the city of Cleveland, $500,000 will come from Cuyahoga County, and plans are being made to raise the other $500,000 needed to complete the project with the next 20 months.

The East 18th Street facility will be cleaned and repaired. The roof will be fixed, and the mold and ventilation problems will be repaired over the next month, using city dollars.

Author: Contributor