The Hitchcock Center for Women is the only treatment center in Northeast Ohio that provides women and their children with housing while receiving addiction treatment. The nonprofit has served as a safe place for women to receive the support they need since 1978.
In 1992, the organization moved their facility into a former seminary in Cleveland. Over 100 years old, the building was not designed for its current use, but the Hitchcock Center made it work.
For years, the Hitchcock Center handled its own facilities management and cleaning in-house. However, they quickly realized that the building required professional facilities management services to best serve its residents. Upon this realization, the nonprofit turned to Allegro’s facilities management team for assistance.
Assessing and Fulfilling Janitorial Staffing Needs
One of the most important first steps to proper facilities management is assessing the staffing needs of a building. Prior to working with Allegro, the nonprofit had a small maintenance staff that included one in-house employee focused on the cleaning of the building.
Allegro’s facilities management team worked with the Hitchcock Center to find the right janitorial services firm for the building that could sufficiently supply workers on-site. Allegro determined that one full-time porter and one part-time porter were needed to clean the bathrooms, take out the trash, and ultimately provide residents with a clean place to heal and recover.
Revitalizing Rooms With Consistent Maintenance
In addition to consistent cleaning services, the historic building was also in need of regular maintenance. Allegro prioritized maintenance projects based on the impact to the organization and its residents. Some of these activities included:
- Installing window blinds and air conditioning units for new residents.
- Painting walls and ceilings.
- Repairing plaster walls and ceilings that were crumbling from previous water damage.
- Fixing drainage problems.
- Identifying an HVAC contractor to assess the current systems and begin doing regular maintenance inspections on the boilers and other HVAC units.
- Moving and configuring furniture.
- Renovating rooms that had been placed out of service (fixing roof leaks, repairing damaged walls, floors, and sinks) so that more residents could be moved into the facility.
Ensuring the Safety of Residents
When Allegro first partnered with the Hitchcock Center, the team realized that, although meeting code requirements, the building’s fire alarm was not connected to a monitoring system. In other words, the fire department would not be automatically alerted if the fire alarm was triggered.
Allegro immediately worked with the Hitchcock Center to upgrade the building’s fire system, and it is now connected and functioning properly. Allegro also works with the staff to conduct regular fire drills, ensuring the safety of the residents and their children.
In addition to updating the fire system, Allegro’s facilities management team also prioritized a renovation to the building’s kitchen. It originally was equipped with fridges, an air fryer, and a hot plate for residents—not necessarily ideal for mothers with young children. The team worked to improve not only the functionality, but also the safety of the space, to include more counters and appliances other than hot plates.
Conducting Larger Building Improvements
In tandem with smaller, more frequent maintenance work, Allegro strategically managed larger improvements to the building, including:
- Replacing the original carpet in the common area with luxury vinyl tile.
- Making dramatic improvements to the building’s HVAC system.
- Replacing the building’s hot water boiler.
- Removing old carpet in some areas to reveal existing wood flooring.
- Securing a reliable roofing contractor to improve any issues from the slate and clay tile roof of the building.
Continuing to Support Women in Recovery With New Four-Story Building
After many years of supporting women in recovery in the former seminary, the Hitchcock Center for Women is ready to move their practice into a new, modern building.
The organization received $2.5 million from the Cleveland Clinic and $2 million from Cleveland City Council to fund the organization’s new four-story building. It’s slated to include 43 apartment units, allowing for expanded care and enabling more children to stay with their mothers, a service unique to the center.
The team plans to move the majority of its services and housing into this new building, but will still use part of their original location for residential purposes. Allegro is excited to be part of this amazing story, and to grow with Hitchcock Center and provide facilities management services in the new building.
Do you need facilities management support? Our team can help. Contact us to discuss your needs today.
