Last Wednesday, Feb. 14, officials with Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland, as well as representatives from Re:Source Cleveland and Global Cleveland, celebrated the grand opening of the Cuyahoga County Welcome Center in Old Brooklyn.

The Welcome Center, housed in a county building at 4261 Fulton Parkway, will welcome and support the immigrant and refugee populations who represent more than 120 nationalities.

“The Welcome Center aims to provide resources to immigrants, refugees, and those with limited English proficiency,” says Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne. “By doing this, we hope to make it easier for people to make Cuyahoga County their permanent home.”

The Welcome Center officially opened with a ribbon cutting that was attended by Global Cleveland president Joe Cimperman; Cuyahoga County Council members Meredith Turner and Yvonne Conwell; Cleveland City Council members Kris Harsh, Jasmine Santana, and City Council president Blaine Griffin; Re:Source Cleveland director Patrick Kearns; and newcomer Thomas Kate.

County Executive Chris Ronayne does the honors at the Welcome Center Ribbon Cutting“We want to ensure that our newcomers and English language learners find an easy path to a new life here, that they feel secure and want to build homes, attend school, and raise families in Northeast Ohio,” Ronayne said at the event.  “This Welcome Center will serve as a touchpoint for newcomers in need of a wide array of services. We will start by laying a foundation, connecting people to stable housing, jobs, education, and legal assistance. Thanks to our partners, Global Cleveland, Re:Source Cleveland, other partner agencies, we will be able to come together and build a foundation to help our new residents.”

Ronayne says the County will collaborate with partner agencies to connect residents to housing, job support, legal, language services, and educational services. Tina Coleman, Cuyahoga County Job and Family Services coordinator and outreach supervisor, will oversee operations at the Welcome Center. 

“We hope that the Welcome Center will have a big, positive impact on the people who come in search of assistance,” Ronayne says. “The people we serve are in need of connections and resources. They need housing, food assistance, education, job support—all things that determine the way they are able to live their lives.”

He adds that the resources offered will help newcomers feel both welcome and that they have found their homes. “When we provide this help, we are essentially empowering them to create a new life here in our community,” he says.

Cuyahoga County Welcome Center in Old BrooklynRonayne has made the Welcome Center one of his priorities since he took office as County Executive a year ago to ensure newcomers feel welcomed and supported.

He says the County Health and Human Services staff members regularly work with immigrant and refugee populations and were instrumental in identifying what services would provide the most help.   

“The opening of the Cuyahoga County Welcome Center symbolizes the County's commitment to embracing diversity and encouraging and assisting new residents to make our region a permanent home,” Ronayne says. “We are proud to be a place where we welcome, value, and support our immigrant and refugee population.”

Thanks to the establishment of the Welcome Center, Welcoming America has designated Cuyahoga County a “Certified Welcoming” county—the second county in the entire country to earn the designation, which is awarded to local governments that create policies and programs reflecting a commitment to immigrant inclusion in in all areas of civic, social, and economic life. 

One example is in the Welcome Center’s Newcomer Days—free one-stop-shop, day-long events that offer newcomer communities access to County resources. Ronayne says Re:Source Cleveland’s Newcomer Navigator Program hosted six Newcomer Days last year, reaching 246 households and 1,021 individuals. 

“I am excited about the opening of the Welcome Center because I know that this is the kind of thing that really makes a difference,” Ronayne says. “We are connecting people to things that will make their lives better. Through this effort, we are growing and expanding the diversity of our region and fostering inclusion.”