Dwayne Drotar to become Executive Director of The Metanoia Project

Metanoia leaders Dwayne Drotar and Carl Cook spoke to about 30 St. Malachi parishioners on 1/18/2015 for Sunday Morning at St. Malachi. The Metanoia Project is a non-profit which uses the St. Malachi School building to operate a homeless shelter during the winter months.

Dwayne Drotar, next Executive Director of The Metanoia Project

At the presentation we were informed that Dwayne Drotar will soon be assuming the role of Executive Director and will be replacing Tim Walters.

Dwayne has a long history serving the homeless and other vulnerable populations. He has taught and/or coached sports at Urban Community School, St. Ignatius, Beaumont High School and St. Martin De Porres High School. He has served as Executive Director for the Salvation Army and 2100 Lakeside. He has a St. Malachi connection including serving as Program Director for St. Malachi Center, and early in his career he led the Rainbow Club (a Saturday program for area youth) here at St. Malachi where among other things he started the boxing program.

He will be working with the Metanoia Board with a visioning process to determine the next steps for the organization.

Carl Cook, Program Manager, explained the current operations of Metanoia. They serve the “Unsheltered Population” in Cleveland and are open nights (6PM to 7AM) Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. In addition, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday they open on “Critical Cold Days” when the temperature falls to below 20 degrees.

Carl Cook, Program Manager for The Metanoia Project

Common reasons that people are homeless include issues with mental health, substance abuse, fear and pride or a combination of these. Metanoia provides a meal, various services, overnight shelter and perhaps most importantly the opportunity to form relationships. Their aim is to improve the quality of life for these individuals.

An important component of their program is a 6 week night school for the homeless called “The Courage To Change.” During this program participants are invited to look deeply into themselves so that a desire to change is aroused. The program includes both a classroom component and field experience. Now in its third year, many of the graduates of this program have been able to become employed and find a place to live.

For more information, please see Metanoia’s website.