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Providence House

Who We Are

Providence House is Ohio’s first and one of the nation's longest-operating crisis nurseries among the 70+ in operation in the U.S. and Canada.  

We offer free, voluntary, non-custodial emergency shelter to children newborn through twelve years old, actively living in crisis situations.

Providence House has cared for and advocated for more than 15,000 children and families in crisis since opening our doors in 1981. To provide the support so desperately needed by our families, we deliver a holistic, integrated program focused on family preservation.

Our unique Crisis Nursery Program is a comprehensive service based on the latest research in our industry and evidence-based programs and practices that can help prevent child abuse and neglect and reduce foster care placements. 

Following their stay with us, the children we care for go home to stronger, more stable families. Over the last five years, an average of 99% of families who brought a child to stay in our Crisis Nursery reunited after engaging with our services!

Mother receives counceling at providence house

What do we do?

We Keep Children Safe by providing for their physical, emotional, developmental, and educational needs.

  • Offer free, voluntary (non-custodial) 24/7 emergency shelter to children aged newborn through twelve years old who are at risk of abuse and neglect.
  • Provide each child in our care with evidence-based assessments, therapies, daily activities, and individual nurturing that supports their developmental, social-emotional, medical, and educational enrichment.

We Support Families by connecting them to resources, cultivating nurturing practices, and helping them improve stability so they can stay together.

  • Offer unique, individualized parent education, mentoring, family preservation, and Aftercare services to support long-term family stability.
  • Link families to community support services, treatments, and therapies focused on developing safe, stable caregivers in the home through intensive case management and counseling services.
  • Certified Trauma Specialists provide interventions and therapies to address the long-term impacts of trauma on child development and family dynamics.

We Strengthen Communities by advocating for underserved families and demonstrating the lasting impact of prevention.

  • Partner collaboratively with approximately 130 public and private service providers in wrap services to promote family stability.
  • Conduct dozens of community outreach visits and speaking engagements each year to advocate for our families and the impact of family preservation.

Our West Campus

The Providence House West Campus in Ohio City features three distinct service areas in two buildings:

  • Leo’s House, Crisis Nursery - Our traditional Crisis Nursery model, licensed by the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services (ODJFS) to operate 24/7, provides protection for up to 20 children at a time, aged newborn through twelve, in a home-like facility that includes play spaces, a dining area, sibling bedrooms, and a family room.
  • Elisabeth’s House, The Prentiss Pediatric Crisis Nursery - This program models our traditional Crisis Nursery while offering an additional tier of medically-related services for up to 10 children at a time in order to improve child wellness, reduce hospital stays and readmissions, and increase caregiver capacity to support their child’s medical needs.
  • Family Center A dedicated wing in Elisabeth’s House serves families from both nurseries and is equipped with three “family rooms” furnished with couches, tables, chairs, and children’s play equipment. The Family Center hosts private onsite family visits, parent education, case management, trauma services, and Aftercare Program support sessions. 

Our East Campus

Providence House is expanding to the East Side of Cleveland to help address the increase in the need for our services. Our East Campus will allow us to serve 240 more children and 400+ more families each year. The East Campus Crisis Nursery is expected to open in Summer 2023.

Learn more about our East Campus


Our Results

Last year, we successfully reunited 100% of the 174 children and 84 families served. A long-term outcomes study conducted by Case Western Reserve University (published in Children and Youth Services Review, Vol. 61) affirmed our belief that when parents are actively engaged in our recommended support services, there is less chance of their children entering foster care.

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