Joseph & Mary’s Home, a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System, named Kait McNeeley as its new executive director. McNeeley is a seasoned nonprofit leader who brings extensive experience advancing housing justice, stabilizing vulnerable populations and revitalizing organizations.
In this role, McNeeley will guide the medical respite care Joseph & Mary’s Home provides for Cleveland’s men and women experiencing homelessness, while also strengthening programs to help residents on a path toward stable housing and self-sufficiency.
Most recently, McNeeley was deputy director of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, where she provided strategic leadership across operations, human resources, finance, communications and program management. She also directly supervised directors and staff across programs serving medically and socially vulnerable populations.
Prior to that, McNeeley was the executive director at The Metanoia Project, where she revitalized and rebranded the nonprofit, restoring credibility with funders and reestablishing trust with health care and community partners. She has also been a property manager at EDEN, Inc., where she applied Housing First principles to stabilize 140-plus tenants annually, many with complex medical and behavioral health needs.
“Throughout her career, Kait has consistently demonstrated success in developing trauma-informed programs that serve individuals facing homelessness and complex health challenges,” said Michael Spangler, chair of the Joseph & Mary’s Home Board of Directors. “Her deep expertise and collaborative approach — bringing together health care, housing and social services — make her an outstanding choice to lead our organization. As we continue to navigate uncertain times, Kait’s leadership will be instrumental in ensuring we remain a source of healing and hope for adults in need of a nurturing, compassionate environment.”
“For me, this work has always been a vocation, a calling to care for and advocate alongside people who are often overlooked or underserved,” said McNeeley. “The mission of Joseph & Mary's Home reflects that same compassion and intentional care, especially those recovering from illness while experiencing homelessness. I was drawn to the commitment to dignity, healing and stability, which are values that deeply align with how I've approached my work throughout my career.”
She said that each step in her career has deepened her belief that healing and housing are inseparable, and that meaningful change happens when centered around compassion and collaboration. “Those lessons are what guide me now as I step into this role at Joseph & Mary's Home,” she added.
Joseph & Mary’s Home, a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System, is the only homeless service provider in Northeast Ohio exclusively focused on medical respite care. While residents stabilize their physical illness in a nurturing faith-based environment, they also develop individual housing plans and connections to behavioral health supports to help them get back to health and forward to housing. It was founded in 2000 by the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine who saw an unmet need in the community for a place where medically fragile men experiencing homelessness could recuperate after leaving the hospital. With the addition of Mary’s Home in 2022, Joseph & Mary’s Home also began providing care for women.