Joint Statement: Youth Drop-In Center

 JOINT STATEMENT: YOUTH DROP-IN CENTER
A Place 4 Me and Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry
August 31, 2026

A Place 4 Me and Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry (LMM) are announcing the next phase in the development of the Youth Drop-In Center. While LMM was originally slated to operate the center at a property it owns, the project has since evolved, and A Place 4 Me is prepared to assume full operational responsibility for the Youth Drop-In Center at an alternative site. LMM will continue to have a visible presence with its mission-focused charitable work at the Franklin Avenue site.

This next phase leverages years of partnership among A Place 4 Me, LMM, young adult leaders, and community partners who have helped advance the vision for a dedicated space for young people experiencing homelessness. A Place 4 Me will serve as the Center’s sole operator, building on the years of partnership with LMM and young adult leaders that brought the Center to this point.

There is an urgent need for a Youth Drop-In Center in Cuyahoga County to serve the more than 500 young people experiencing homelessness per year. To address this need, A Place 4 Me is actively working on opening a Center to serve as a hub where young people can access basic needs, connect with A Place 4 Me’s Youth Navigation team, and access a broader network of housing, shelter, behavioral health, and supportive services.

The development of the Youth Drop-In Center has required years of planning, program development, community engagement, fundraising, advocacy, and collaboration. A Place 4 Me is grateful for LMM’s significant contributions throughout that process and for the work the organizations have shared to move the vision for a dedicated youth-focused space forward.

The leadership of youth and young adults with lived experience has shaped the services young people need when they walk through the doors creating a broader vision for how the Center can strengthen the network of support available to youth experiencing homelessness throughout Cuyahoga County.

As the Center moves into this next phase, A Place 4 Me and LMM will remain connected as community partners and continue working together as part of the broader effort to address and ultimately end youth homelessness. This collaboration includes A Place 4 Me’s Youth Navigation Services, the Youth Homelessness Membership Collaborative, and other services as well as LMM’s work with youth and young adults at the youth shelter, independent living program and men’s shelter, and leading the continuum effort for the young adult navigation, outreach and transitional housing – rapid rehousing program.

Both organizations remain committed to the same goal that has driven this work from the beginning: ensuring that young people experiencing homelessness have somewhere to turn, someone in their corner, and meaningful connections to the resources they need to move toward stability.

This next phase will allow A Place 4 Me to more closely integrate the Youth Drop-In Center with its Youth Navigation team while continuing to provide services to hundreds of youth and young adults experiencing homelessness, housing instability, and/or foster care each year. A Place 4 Me will share additional updates on the future of the Youth Drop-In Center in the coming weeks.