CLEVELAND — Across all of Ohio, thousands of kids and young adults are homeless every year.

What You Need To Know

  • 500 young adults relying on homelessness services in Cuyahoga County 

  • Cuyahoga County received a $3.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 

  • The county said its goal is to completely put an end to Youth and Young Adult Homelessness in the next three years

Among them, about 500 in Cuyahoga County who rely on government services.

That’s why the county is using a new multi-million dollar grant to try to put an end to the problem.

Cuyahoga County is teaming up with several different groups to create the “Reaching For New Heights Plan.”

It will use a $3.9-million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to jump start several initiatives.

Among them, a transitional rapid re-housing program in which the Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry will provide safe housing options for people under the age of 24.

It’s expected to help more than 150 young adults over the next year. 

“Navigating the streets is something that young people do, we’re very resourceful, but we’re very vulnerable and in need of a higher rate of help than other populations,” Saga said.

Kai Saga works for "A Place 4 Me,'"one of the organizations involved in the plan. She now helps others find housing after struggling when she was younger. 

“When I was in need of housing, I was homeless for a short period of time, and I truly didn’t know where to turn. 'A Place 4 Me' helped me find emergency assistance and resources so that I could get my first house actually,” Saga said.

Michael Sering helps run Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, a group that’s been chosen as the lead agency for two main contracts. 

“One is called the NAV for short, navigation center services and the other is transitional housing to rapid re-housing. Both of these projects together are going to provide services and housing to young people who are unstably housed or homeless,” Sering said.

Sering said getting nearly four million dollars from HUD will help with the project immensely. 

“This effort is really part of LMM’s growing effort to focus on homeless to housed and this will give us more resources to focus on the 18 to 24 year olds,” Sering said.

The County said its goal is to completely put an end to Youth and Young Adult Homelessness in the next three years.