Cleveland’s first treatment center to focus on addiction recovery for women is unveiling its $28 million expansion this fall. 

Hitchcock Center for Women has operated out of a nearly 100-year-old former seminary on Ansel Road near Cleveland’s Hough and Glenville neighborhoods since the 1990s. 

Donations and pandemic recovery money are paying for a new facility built next door to the former seminary. The new facility will nearly double the center’s impact, expanding its reach from an average of 300 women annually to close to 600, according to a press release from Cleveland City Council

The center is unique in allowing women going through addiction treatment to bring their young children with them.

“That’s how children will win – by having engaged parents, mothers and families together. And they’ll learn that from being here,” said Cleveland City Council Member Kevin Conwell at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new facility Monday. “ … That child will grow up and see his mother and will be part of their mother’s life and treatment together.” 

The organization wanted a new building that was purposefully built with therapy and addiction treatment – rather than studying religion – in mind, said Jason Joyce, the executive director of the Hitchcock Center. 

“With our new space, we want to do that from the ground up,” Joyce said. “So we have therapists’ offices on every floor, we have adjoining rooms for the families to connect with, and then we have all the therapy spaces that we need to move forward.”

The former building will likely be maintained as recovery housing, or a place residents can live in a sober environment after residential treatment, Joyce said. Additionally, the new building will add 52 units of federally subsidized, rent-capped housing, which anyone with a low income can apply for. 

What the Hitchcock Center does 

The Hitchcock Center is Cuyahoga County’s only residential treatment provider focused on women and their children, up to age 12, who can live with their mothers as the women receive substance use disorder treatment, according to a press release about the new facility. 

Women who are addicted to drugs or alcohol can be referred to the facility by hospitals, the court system or other social service agencies. Women can also refer themselves, said Amy Asseff, president of the Hitchcock Center’s Board of Trustees. 

The typical cycle of a client is to begin in residential treatment, where they live on-site at the facility for four to five weeks and participate in different therapies, Joyce said. While in the residential program, families have access to meals and some daycare for kids.  

After residential treatment, clients can move back home or into recovery housing on campus. Many will continue to receive outpatient treatment, visiting the Hitchcock Center frequently for different therapy sessions.  

What’s new

The new facility adds more space for women seeking residential treatment, increasing the capacity from 30 to 42 women at a time. That means more private bedrooms with attached bathroom facilities where clients can stay with up to three kids. 

If a mom has more than three kids, there are some adjacent rooms that are connected with an adjoining door between them, Asseff said. 

“It’s kind of like staying in a hotel room,” Asseff said. “We just make sure we have enough space for them to stay there on the long term.”

The new center also has a playroom for children, a cafeteria and a large kitchen, along with rooms for individual and group therapies. 

The 52 rent-capped housing units are also new to the Hitchcock Center’s operations. These units are open to residents with low incomes, and they will not pay more than 30% of their incomes. Joyce said that the center put in a preference for women who have been through addiction treatment and women with families.  

“That is at least the preference, but we won’t deny either,” Joyce said.

Expansion powered by local, state investments  

The expansion received dollars from a plethora of funding sources – both government and private donations. 

The City of Cleveland gave $3.7 million, some of it from COVID relief dollars. The State of Ohio invested $5.5 million that it received from the federal government following COVID, meant to improve housing stability. Cuyahoga County gave $3.8 million, and the ADAMHS board invested, too. 

The Cleveland Clinic donated $2.5 million to the project, said Vicki Eaton Johnson, executive vice president and the clinic’s chief community officer. 

“I want all of you to understand we are committed to every community in which we’re located,” Johnson told the crowd at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “…We’re very proud to be the only health care center that’s invested in this project.”

 Fifth Third Community Bank provided several loans for the project as well.