Our Story
A Place 4 Me began in 2014 with a shared vision: every young person deserves a safe, stable place to call home.
Public agencies, nonprofit partners, and philanthropic leaders across Cuyahoga County came together to build a coordinated response to youth homelessness rooted in partnership, systems change, and youth voice.
Shaped by Youth Voice
From the beginning, A Place 4 Me was shaped by the understanding that youth homelessness cannot be solved by one organization or one system alone. Housing, child welfare, education, employment, and other systems all play a role. A Place 4 Me was created to bring those partners together around shared solutions and stronger outcomes for youth and young adults in Cuyahoga County. Even our name, A Place 4 Me, was picked by youth and young adults.
Authentic youth engagement has always been central to this work. Early youth focus groups helped inform A Place 4 Me’s planning, and the principle of “nothing about me without me” became foundational to the collaborative’s approach. That commitment continues today through youth leadership and lived experience helping shape programs, partnerships, and systems change efforts.
“Do you have A Place 4 Me?”
As awareness of A Place 4 Me grew, more young people began reaching out with a simple question: “Do you have a place for me?” Rather than turning them away in the name of systems change, we responded by creating our Youth Navigation team, made up of staff with lived experience in homelessness, housing instability, and/or foster care.
The 100-Day Challenge
A key milestone came in 2016, when A Place 4 Me was selected as one of three sites in the nation to participate in the 100-Day Challenge to house 100 young people in 100 days. The collaborative exceeded its goal, helping build momentum for stronger coordination, new strategies, and a deeper community commitment to preventing and ending youth homelessness.
Leading the Movement, Changing the System
Today, A Place 4 Me continues to bring partners together around a shared commitment to belonging, stability, and opportunity for youth and young adults. What began as a collaborative vision has grown into an ongoing community effort to ensure every young person has a place to belong and a place to call home.
Follow our journey.
