Experiencing homelessness is devastating.

Those who come to our emergency shelter do so for a variety of reasons, such as fleeing domestic abuse, a disability, loss of income, the incarceration of a partner, and substance use disorders.

Although living at Beach House Family Shelter is better than living on the streets or in a vehicle, it can still be a challenge to stay positive in this situation.

Here are a few ways we help keep hope alive for those living at our Shelter:

Once a family experiences homelessness, they never want to do so again. We help break the cycle of homelessness and poverty through education in many areas.

Education provides our Participants with a sense of self-worth and reduces the anxiety of “not knowing” what to do in a certain situation.

Once a family transitions to permanent housing through our Shelter programs, they want to keep that housing. One way to do this is by understanding their rights and responsibilities as tenants.

Landlord-Tenant Training provides the education needed to help our Participants keep their rental units. We’ve had Participants who could have suffered an eviction were it not for the education they received through our Landlord-Tenant Training. Evictions can be a stumbling block to families, because as soon as you have an eviction on your record, it follows you wherever you go – and makes it very difficult to find a housing unit.

Improvement in income is a critical component of our time-sensitive housing programs and the long-term housing stability of those we serve.

Income Improvement Programs include:

Employment Solutions Program: provides the opportunity for unemployed program participants to work one on one with our employment specialists to gain and maintain employment.

Work-Readiness Program: supports individuals and families through counseling, vocational training, education, work referrals, and a variety of other resources that impact employment.

Teaching families how to budget and manage household expenses can really change the way a family utilizes their income and resources.

SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

It is a national program designed to increase access to the disability income benefit programs administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) for eligible adults and children who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness and have a serious mental illness, medical impairment, and/or a co-occurring substance use disorder.

Our SSI Ohio Project specialist helps people successfully apply for SSI/SSDI and other benefits using the SOAR methodology.

Another way we keep hope alive for our Participants at Shelter is through emotional support. We provide emotional support in a number of ways – through programs, case management, and the support of our staff.

Our Steps to Health Program changes lives by providing support for those suffering from behavioral health disabilities.

Our case managers are the unsung heroes of Leading Families Home. They work with our Participants one-on-one from intake assessments for entry into our Shelter to follow-up support once our Participants are housed.

Everyone at Leading Families Home and Beach House Family Shelter is a vital piece of our organization. We work together to help families experiencing homelessness to find a home. From our Directors to our Case Managers to our Housing Specialists, each team member fills an essential role in completing our mission.

Deleice Henderson works as our Residential Coordination at Beach House Family Shelter. Deleice works at the Shelter, interacting with our Participants on a daily basis. She knows each Participant and their personal stories. She provides leadership and support within the Shelter.

Deleice was once a Participant at Beach House, and as such, has a unique and uncommon perspective among our staff members. Deleice uses her personal experience to connect with and guide Participants.

Learn more about Deleice’s story.

LuCynthia Jones is our Steps to Home Housing Director. She provides leadership and direction to our housing staff and works hard to help families transition from homelessness to permanent housing.

Cindy Zawojski is our Data Analyst Director. She provides the data we need to show the success of our programs, so that we can share that data with our donors and supporters.

Connect with us on social media to see the latest stories from our Participants, Board Members, Staff, and Volunteers!

You can support Leading Families Home by liking or following our accounts, liking and SHARING them on your social media accounts. Invite your contacts to like or follow us, too! Let’s spread the word, and end homelessness in Toledo!

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Leading Families Home is based in Toledo, Ohio. We are dedicated to fighting homelessness in our community – and we’d love your help! Please consider supporting our organization in one of the following ways:

Donate Online

Leading Families Home partners with PayPal for secure online payments. Click Donate Now to be taken to the secure donation page.

To donate by check, please make the check out to Leading Families Home.

Mail your check to the following address:

Leading Families Home

2283 Ashland Ave.

Toledo, OH 43604

Other Ways to Donate

When you shop on AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com) the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organization of your choice. Learn more about AmazonSmile .

It’s easy to donate with Kroger Community Rewards – just shop at Kroger, and swipe your Plus Card! Join Kroger Community Rewards .

Every year we have a Match Campaign – an exciting way for you to double your impact. During this campaign, our match partners will match your monetary donation to Leading Families Home.

Match partners also include corporate sponsors who match their employees’ donations. If you’d like to participate, find out if your employer matches employee donations to 501(c)(3) organizations and contact us .

Do you love to plan events? You can raise donations for LFH by hosting your own event! Have fun and make an impact on our community. Ask for donations instead of birthday gifts or baby shower presents.

A Planned Gift allows you to donate in a very meaningful way. Contact your financial advisor or estate planner to learn more.