Lake County Sentinel
Project Hope for the Homeless Hosts ‘Night of Hope’ on November 7, 2025, to Support Local People Facing Homelessness
Annual fundraiser leads into National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week
(Painesville Township, OH) — Project Hope for the Homeless, Lake County’s only homeless shelter, invites the community to its annual fundraiser, The Night of Hope — an uplifting evening celebrating restored hope and renewed lives through shelter, care, and compassion.
This year’s event takes place two weeks ahead of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week (November 16–20), offering an early opportunity to raise awareness and inspire action around the growing issue of homelessness in our region.
Homelessness in Ohio is on the rise, according to the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio. As the only homeless shelter in Lake County, Project Hope for the Homeless plays a critical role in addressing this growing need. Each night, the shelter serves up to fifty people, and throughout the year it supports around 500 individuals and families. With the help of compassionate staff, volunteers, and community partners, Project Hope for the Homeless offers not only a warm bed, but also guidance, stability, and hope. The organization operates five core programs: Adult Shelter, Family Shelter, Aftercare Program, Transitional Housing for Seniors, and the Welcome Home Center – where guests can receive household essentials for their new homes.
Most importantly, 76% of guests move forward into stable housing, thanks to the staff, wraparound care, and long-term support available through aftercare.
This life-changing impact is what The Night of Hope is all about — a celebration of second chances, transformed lives, and the community that makes it possible. The Night of Hope is a time for community, celebration, and inspiration. Guests will be welcomed with live flute music and hors d’oeuvres, followed by a family-style dinner and a selection of desserts. The evening includes a presentation of the Blessings Award, honoring a community member who has made a difference; powerful stories from former shelter guests; a brief program highlighting Project Hope’s mission and impact. Guests will have an opportunity to give through a free-will offering to support the shelter’s life-changing work.
Join Us
RSVP for The Night of Hope: https://projecthopeforthehomeless.org/night-of-hope-2025
To volunteer or donate: www.projecthopeforthehomeless.org
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Together, we can bring hope home.
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LAKE COUNTY FREE CLINIC PLANS PERMANENT HOME
A new opportunity for healthcare access for uninsured community members
(PAINESVILLE, OH) -- Since 1971, Lake County Free Clinic has made helping the community a priority, providing medical and dental care at no cost to adults and children who are uninsured or underinsured.
Now, as the premier free clinic in northeast Ohio, Lake County Free Clinic needs the community’s help.
In early 2022, LCFC will be moving into a new permanent location in central Painesville from which to provide comprehensive primary and specialty medical care, dental care, case management, labs, prescriptions, referrals for vision and specialty care, supplies and education. To do that, LCFC is launching “Building for a Healthier Community,” a capital campaign to raise $615,000.
"This is definitely one of the biggest challenges LCFC has faced in its 50-year history,” said LCFC Executive Director Marty Hiller. “I always say that a strong free clinic is a sign of strong community support, and I am confident that, as they have in the past, the community will help us remain strong for years to come. We are proud to be able to tell the community that we have already raised nearly half of the funds needed for this community investment.”
In the middle of the pandemic, LCFC leaders were told that the site where the clinic had operated for more than 15 years had been sold. Since January 2021, LCFC has provided chronic, acute and preventive medical care from much smaller temporary quarters while the clinic’s site search team worked diligently to identify a facility that would not only meet the current need but could accommodate the clinic’s growing caseload and list of services for many years to come.
In the last few years, LCFC has worked toward adopting a social determinants approach to healthcare, not only identifying the medical or dental concerns of patients but adding a case management program to identify and address other basic needs that could impact their health, such as insufficient food or inadequate housing. This whole-person approach is being adopted by a wide array of healthcare providers and has demonstrated positive and long-lasting health outcomes.
The new facility will allow the clinic to resume its much-anticipated dental services, expand medical care and more fully integrate the case management program. Time is of the essence, Hiller noted.
Our patients need us,” he said. “Thousands of people who don’t have medical or dental insurance in Lake and surrounding counties need us. An uninsured person who visits an emergency department is twice as likely to declare bankruptcy in four years -- and if the patient decides to go, there are times the patient does not get the help they need. Emergency departments are great for stabilizing patients in urgent situations. They are not primary care providers. Lake County Free Clinic is.”
Philip, a Mentor resident, came to LCFC in late 2020. He was uninsured and worried, because he hadn’t had his blood pressure checked in more than a year. At his first visit, his provider found edema and noticed that Philip’s blood pressure was reaching levels that could possibly cause a stroke. Philip left with medication and instructions on regaining his health.
By his next visit, he had started on medication, cut back on junk food and began hiking. He is excited for his next follow-up visit and new lifestyle.
“Everyone here is most helpful and friendly,” he said, adding that he was grateful to find a place where he could get care without insurance.
In 2020, LCFC provided more than 3,300 medical and dental treatment visits, even while limiting visits for two months due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. This year, LCFC is expecting to exceed the number of medical visits provided the year prior to the pandemic. More than 93 percent of patients are uninsured; more than 60 percent of patients have household incomes below 138 percent of the federal poverty level.
“The need for affordable healthcare is part of the larger picture of inequalities affecting many members of our community. This need continues to grow as our neighbors lose insurance coverage or employment,” Hiller said. “Free clinics reflect the value a community places on the health of its residents, and the community’s generosity is what allows that care to happen.”
For more information, or to support the work being done at LCFC, visit www.lakefreeclinic.org
Snowbelt Symphony Salutes America with Free Veterans Weekend Concert
The Snowbelt Symphony Orchestra presents "Salute to America" Sunday, November 9 at 4:00pm at North High School in Eastlake. This stirring program will feature rousing patriotic gems like Stars and Stripes Forever and God Bless America, familiar music by John Williams, Henry Mancini, and Leonard Bernstein, Broadway favorites, songs by great American songwriters George Gershwin and Cole Porter, and more performed by the Snowbelt Symphony Orchestra. A highlight of the concert will be the playing of the anthems of each of the branches of the armed forces to honor those that have made significant sacrifices to defend our country's freedoms and liberties. Guest vocalist Lindsey Leonard will join the orchestra with selections from The Sound of Music and The King and I. The concert will be conducted by SSO Music Director Greg Hillis
Guest vocalist Lindsey Leonard has performed opera and musical theater roles with The Musical Theater Project, Akron Symphony, Cleveland Opera Theatre, The Beck Center, Cain Park, Rabbit Run Theater, and Lakeland Theatre. Ms. Leonard received her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Baldwin-Wallace University and her Master of Music degree from Kent State University. Roles include: Lily (The Secret Garden), Eliza Doolittle (My Fair Lady), Nellie Forbush (South Pacific), Clara Johnson (The Light in the Piazza), Mary Warren (The Crucible), Nella (Gianni Schicchi), Monica (The Medium), and Edith (The Pirates of Penzance). Her favorite role is Mom to Amelia, Elsie, Simeon, and Marianne.
As a way to express our gratitude toward and to honor our veterans, we are offering this concert FREE to the community. Free tickets can be reserved online at www.snowbeltmusical.org or by calling 440-296-9610. North High School is located at 34041 Stevens Blvd in Eastlake. There is plenty of free parking and the theater is ADA accessible.
The Snowbelt Symphony Orchestra is a fully-professional orchestra featuring some of the best classically-trained musicians in Northeast Ohio. It was founded in 2022 to bring high quality live classical music performances to Lake and Geauga counties. The orchestra next performs on December 18 with a concert of holiday favorites.
For more information, please visit www.snowbeltmusical.org. Snowbelt Musical Arts Association can be reached for questions or comments at info@snowbeltmusical.org or 440-296-9610. SMAA can be followed on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @snowbeltmusical.