A drive along Cleveland Avenue in Linden reveals dozens of churches and places of worship.

There are more than 50 faith groups in the North Side neighborhood, but they're not as impactful as they once were, said some residents, city officials and even local faith leaders.

Only a handful of those houses of worship go out of their way to provide activities and guidance for children in the neighborhood and to support and help lift up drug addicts, prostitutes and others who are ailing, they told The Dispatch.

Those interviewed blamed a lack of resources, an unwillingness by some to work together, and a declining membership because of people aging, moving out of the neighborhood or just not being involved in their faith as much as they used to be.

"The churches are in the community, but the community is not in the churches," said Mitchell Ellison, founder of C.R.A.C.K. (Christ Resurrects After Crack Kills) House Ministries. "The church isn't reaching people who need church the most ... They're trying to get unchurched people to be church people but they don't have the clothes to wear, the money to give."

Though there are efforts — by religious leaders, individuals and government officials — to affect more community change by the faith groups, those efforts are still young. So are measures by Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther to breathe new life into the area.

In 2015, Ginther named Linden as a place he wanted to revitalize. Since then, residents have noticed shiny new bus stops, Lime Bikes that many can't use because they require credit cards, and food trucks that eat up a day's food allowance. Though a nice gesture, many local residents say those efforts don't address the real problems facing many people in Linden: poverty, addiction, mental-health issues and more.

Some characterize the problems as stemming from a lack of youth mentoring, others point to a sense of hopelessness among residents, and still others say Linden needs a community resource center like the South Side's Reeb Avenue Center.

"Just because you build a building or change something, if the heart of a person isn't changed, it doesn't matter," said Ellison, whose organization ministers to those in need from its building at 1910 Cleveland Avenue, in the heart of Linden.

In the past, Ellison and others said they have seen officials, wealthy do-gooders, mega-churches and more try to improve the neighborhood without asking local people what they want or need, sometimes wasting resources on programs that don't work.

Elon Simms, director of community affairs in Ginther's office, hopes to turn things around.

Part of his job is to work with faith leaders to create community-based solutions in Linden and throughout the city. In Linden, he's worked with New Salem Missionary Baptist Church at 2956 Cleveland Ave. and the Concerned Clergy of Linden, a coalition of faith leaders that have met with other organizations on issues such as crime and other groups.

Both New Salem and Concerned Clergy helped to take a broad look at what the community could do when it lost its grocery store in February and became a food desert. New Salem now helps to host a Sunday farmers market in Linden so that residents still have access to fresh fruit and vegetables.

"We know there's a lot of churches out there trying to do things, we're just trying to identify them," said Simms, who is putting together a list of Columbus faith communities and the outreach they do so the mayor's office can connect with them and help.

Though not all of the 52 faith groups in Linden have expansive outreach programs, many are helping on a smaller level, said Jennifer Adair, who leads the North Linden Area Commission.

"I don't think it's that they don't want to help," Adair said. "It's that they're not able to help or (they) value helping in a different way ... Where we're going to start making a difference is individual by individual."

Ellison estimates he sees hundreds of addicts a week, many of whom he's been able to help on an individual basis.

A former crack addict himself, he has been working for 20 years in Linden, where he grew up.

Ellison said he didn't always know how to minister to the broken. He learned on the job and now, those in need seek him out: calling to him from across the street, coming into his office to ask for help and attending lunches and Bible studies he hosts at the ministry.

Linden resident Yvonne Ashley, 44, credits Ellison for helping to get her clean. "This is the place that saved me seven years ago," Ashley said of C.R.A.C.K. House Ministries.

Now, she shares her story with other female addicts on the streets of Linden and at C.R.A.C.K. House.

Similarly, Daniel Muassa, 15, credits his life changing to another Linden faith group: the Hardy Center, at 1743 E. Lakeview Ave., a non-profit group created 11 years ago by neighboring Grace Apostolic Church.

More than 300 children come to the center each weekday in the summer to play, get a free lunch, tend a garden or be taught the Bible. They also can learn Spanish, go through a life-skills course, brush up on their reading skills or learn about drugs and alcohol. The program caters to children ages four to 12, and when they age out, such as Muassa, they can come back to help with the younger children, said Stephen Garland, the center's director.

"Our purpose is to prepare young minds with prosperous futures," Garland said. "They know this neighborhood, but they don't know much else. They don't know Bexley or New Albany, or what it takes to get there."

Through his relationship with Garland and help expanding his vocabulary and improving grades, Muassa began to dream bigger. He went from wanting to just enlist in the Air Force after high school to having the confidence to apply to the Air Force Academy and become an officer.

No one in the area interviewed by The Dispatch said they've lost hope for what Linden is and can become with a little help from people in the community, including its houses of worship.

"I think churches can play a huge role ... I think everybody in Linden plays a part in improving Linden," said Elizabeth Mengali, with the Maize Road Civic Association and Block Watch in Linden.

She said the local faith groups share her same goals: to improve the community.

"Individuals need to get out in the neighborhood and actually practice their faith, put shoe leather to it," said Garland, adding that churches have the power to motivate people to help the community. "They are leading ... I feel like they need to lead more."