How One Cleveland Nonprofit is Breaking the Cycle of Homelessness
By Eric Harmon
When Greg Jones moved from Cleve, Mississippi to Cleveland, he was shocked by what he saw. Coming from a small town where homelessness was virtually nonexistent and community support was woven into the fabric of daily life, the sight of young people without stable housing weighed heavily on him.
“I got frustrated hearing about how many young people were becoming homeless or didn’t see a way out or didn’t see anything of value, “Jones says. “Let something make you mad enough to do good,” he says, describing the motto that would inspire his next steps.
Jones, who now works full-time for Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services, founded A 2nd Home for You in 2015. The nonprofit addresses a critical gap in social services: what happens to foster youth when they turn 18 and age out of the system.
“Once they’re touched by foster care and they turn 18, they emancipate out,” Jones explains. “They have to now fend for themselves and navigate as adults. You turn 18 and now you’re kind of shuffled around trying to figure out.”
For the past 11 years, A 2nd Home for You has provided housing and comprehensive support for young men ages 18 to 25 who’ve experienced foster care. Operating from a home on St. Clair Avenue, the organization takes a holistic approach to breaking the cycle of homelessness.
The program isn’t a “layup spot,” as Jones puts it. Potential residents go through face-to-face interviews, background checks and drug testing. They must be working, in school or doing both. Once accepted, young men can stay anywhere from three months to three years while they build the skills and stability needed for independent living.
“The first thing is getting them comfortable and understanding that you’re not homeless any longer,” Jones says. “Getting that stress off the plate of ‘where am I going to sleep, where do I go every day and every night’ is a big burden lifted.”
From there, the organization works with each resident on budgeting, job retention, educational pathways and eventual apartment placement. The support doesn’t end when they move out—A 2nd Home for You shadows graduates for a year to ensure they maintain stability.
Jones says that the results speak for themselves. The organization has helped more than 16 young men graduate from college, including seven from Howard University and several from Cleveland State, Lake Erie College and Kent State. For the past six years, A 2nd Home for You has offered scholarships funded through grants and donations.
Key to the program’s success are partnerships with organizations like Tri-C, which helps residents pursue either trade certifications or two-year degrees, and Northern Ohio Recovery Association, which provides substance abuse support and has even hired several program graduates. Jones has also built relationships with local business owners in trades like flooring, carpentry and plastering who employ and mentor young men from the program.
Despite operating entirely on grants and donations with no paid staff—relying instead on volunteers—the organization has made significant impact. Residents are required to give back to the community at least three times per year, creating a cycle of support that extends beyond the walls of the St. Clair home.
Jones maintains careful boundaries between his day job and his nonprofit work to avoid conflicts of interest. Young people in the program typically come through the state after they’ve emancipated or from other sources like Job Corps or the justice system.
Looking ahead to 2030, Jones envisions expanding to additional locations on Cleveland’s East and West sides, continuing to grow what he calls a “small operation with a big punch.”By providing stable housing and comprehensive support during a critical life transition, Jones says the organization isn’t just preventing homelessness—it seeks to create pathways to college degrees, trade certifications and stable employment.
“We’re small in numbers, Jones says. “But we’re hitting with a big punch as far as what we’re doing in the community and changing lives.”
This story was written using AI assistance.