March 17, 2020

by: Renee Canfield

Message from Trish Otter, President & CEO

Dear Friends of UCP of Greater Cleveland:

Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our clients, families, employees and members of our community. We take our responsibilities seriously as both an employer and a provider of services to children and adults with developmental disabilities.  In order to protect the well-being of all, and with the guidance from local, state, and federal authorities to promote public health, UCP of Greater Cleveland will suspend all facility-based OakLeaf and LeafBridge services effective Monday, March 16 through Friday, April 3. This does not include our 24-hour group homes and some community and group employment programming.  Services will tentatively resume on Monday, April 6.  We will continue to monitor COVID-19 developments and will regularly assess this temporary closure.  If resumption of services is delayed beyond April 6, we will alert of the change as soon as possible.

To be clear, there have been no identified cases of the coronavirus among our employees or individuals served.  Our goal is to do our part in helping to flatten the curve of this outbreak in Northeast Ohio and within the global community.  We are following all medical protocols and are heeding the advice of government officials, the CDC, public health authorities and medical experts.  

Although we are suspending these programs, we continue to serve our residential clients and have committed employees working with residents each and every day. We also continue to provide group employment at Cleveland Clinic and Oatey Company, and job training to OakLeaf clients.  Additionally, in an effort to both assist our dedicated employees and the developmental disabilities community, we are making arrangements with other providers to connect UCP employees seeking work to such providers with residential programming.  We hope this brings mutual benefit to our staff as well as the provider community and individuals they serve.

UCP’s leadership team is well prepared for, and committed to, carrying us through these unusual circumstances.  In addition, UCP of Greater Cleveland’s Board of Directors is made up of engaged business professionals who care about and support our mission to empower children and adults with disabilities to advance their independence, productivity and inclusion in the community.  They will guide us through critical decisions with the goal of offering our expertise and compassion to everyone benefiting from our life-changing services.  We thank them for their dedication to our organization.

Please continue to check our website for additional operations and programming updates and follow our social media channels for the most up-to-date news. Thank you, in advance, for your patience and understanding.

Warm Regards,

Trish Otter
President & CEO
UCP of Greater Cleveland

Making a gift to UCP of Greater Cleveland at this time will help sustain quality services for individuals with disabilities who are currently relying on us for around-the-clock support. Donate HERE.

Read a PDF version of this message here: Letter from Trish Otter, President & C.E.O. 

---