Medina housing authority reports 285 people served at Next Step Up shelter, 22 from Wadsworth

Tom O'Connell, representing the Medina Metropolitan Housing Authority, updated Wadsworth City Council on Next Step Up, Medina County's emergency shelter that opened Feb. 28, 2025. He told Council the shelter has served 285 individuals experiencing homelessness or housing instability and that 83% of those served are Medina County residents, including 22 from Wadsworth. "Next Step Up had served 285 individuals experiencing homelessness or housing instability," O'Connell said.

O'Connell said the facility operates 27 beds and averages 22 occupied beds each night. He reported that 49 households have transitioned from the shelter into lease agreements—nine of those within the City of Wadsworth—and that 61 guests have secured employment since the shelter opened. He described an average stay of 33 days and said residency depends on active participation in individualized case plans rather than an arbitrary time limit. The shelter also works with local landlords; O'Connell said staff have developed relationships with two Wadsworth landlords who agreed to rent to shelter guests.

Council members thanked O'Connell for the update and asked about outreach to unsheltered individuals in Wadsworth. O'Connell said outreach continues and noted that two individuals believed to be living unsheltered in the city had declined shelter services at the time of the meeting. He also outlined related projects: the Lafayette supportive housing development (about 10 units; >50% complete) and a planned roughly $15 million renovation of Northview Manor (85 units) in partnership with the Cleveland Housing Network, which he said will take 17–18 months once construction begins.