June 2 – A local nonprofit that provides services including emergency shelter for people experiencing homelessness has reduced hours at both shelters and is facing the possibility of closing both shelters completely. Rental assistance that has helped Clark County landlords and tenants is coming to an end.
Families like Brian Potts don’t know what’s next.
Potts and Krysten Beckett, along with their three young children – aged one, three and eight – have experienced 12-hour days of worry and exhaustion as they brave the challenges of high temperatures, rain and finding as many hot meals as possible . children will eat.
Sheltered Inc. reduced hours in the men’s shelter from 24 hours to 12 hours in April, and then the same in the women’s and family shelters in May. If it does not receive additional funding to cover a shortfall of about $350,000, it will close both shelters by July 1, Executive Director Elaina Bradley said.
The nonprofit just submitted an official proposal to the county requesting $350,000 to support the emergency shelters, Bradley said. The province has not yet voted on approval or denial.
In the meantime, Potts said he and his family are pushing a heavy stroller full of supplies around — often eating deli sandwiches for three meals a day — and are unable to stay in one place for long with young, restless children.
“Day by day it’s getting harder and harder to keep going,” Potts said. “If you came somewhere thinking they were going to help you get some stability, and then they change it for you (that’s hard).”
What led to this?
Sheltered Inc. lost funding from OIC — which has supported the nonprofit on a per-capita, per-family basis since last July — when American Rescue Plan Act dollars ran out this month. The nonprofit has applied for federal and state funds, but they would not arrive in time for the upcoming closure in July.
In February of last year, Clark County terminated part of a $700,000 contract (about $495,000 of which was reimbursed) with Sheltered Inc., which officials said was due to “multiple violations” related to the return of funds collected after a study had found.
Prevention, Retention and Contingency, or PRC, is a program through Ohio DJFS that provides employment assistance and other services to low-income families. This program is funded through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), a federally funded program.
Sheltered Inc. disputed the allegations and the county entered into an agreement with the Ohio Attorney General in November 2023 to collect money that Sheltered Inc. claims. owed, forcing the nonprofit to pay back more than $500,000.
The nonprofit previously said the matter was returned to Clark County by the attorney general last month, but the county has not scheduled any meetings or otherwise made “any efforts to address the alleged issues and their resolution.”
Clark County Commissioner Melanie Flax Wilt said the county cannot comment on the ongoing case.
Since Sheltered Inc. lost funding, it cut shelter hours several times, but was able to return to full capacity with the help of OIC. When OIC began the agreement, Executive Director Mike Calabrese said the nonprofit was best equipped to manage the emergency shelters.
The city purchased the former Villager Inn site in December 2022 to use as a homeless shelter, but demolished the site last September. Three days after the purchase, a water main broke, causing damage to at least 30 of the former hotel rooms, a city document shows.
Months later, the city received no qualified proposals for the project after construction conditions were worse than originally described in the review process. Over the summer, people also broke in and damaged the building, and eventually fire damage sealed the building’s fate. A fire in August caused smoke and additional water damage to the former motel.
A new fire station will be built on part of the site, while the remaining portion of the property will likely be marketed for another development, Heck said.
The city and county both contract with Dayton-based nonprofit Homefull to operate the site of the former Executive Inn as a 35-unit, non-congregate family home.
Heck said the city is reviewing a proposal from Homefull to continue services at the Executive Inn. According to Clark County Public Information Officer Mike Cooper, the county’s contract with the nonprofit expires on June 12 and no new agreement has been formally reached yet.
Rental assistance ended after ARPA dollars ran out, with more than $6 million spent since 2020 to help tenants and landlords with rent. Calabrese previously said there appears to be no funding to continue the program.
Flax Wilt said there are numerous factors contributing to a housing shortage and people being unhoused.
“The rental subsidy is disappearing, thousands of Haitians are migrating to our community; it is a perfect storm that could leave people living in unstable and unsafe housing conditions,” said Flax Wilt.
What is the scale of the crisis?
As of Thursday, Sheltered Inc. will house 55 people, of which 36 people and 10 families are on the call-back or waiting list. Homefull’s family shelter was full.
From 2020 to 2022, Bradley said there were more than 3,000 people in need of emergency shelter in the area between 2020 and 2022. In 2023 there were 558, of which 95 were children. So far in 2024, she says, there have been more than 269 people.
From June to September last year, her group hosted 234 individuals, Bradley said.
The number of people needing help has increased significantly during the pandemic. By the end of May 2020, the nonprofit saw numbers that were starting to impact staffing capacity, and by July there were no more non-congregational rooms available on the private market. For the first time in the history of modern homeless services in Clark County, an emergency shelter waiting list was established.
During this time, a homeless camp, called “Tent City”, was built outside the Springfield Soup Kitchen, housing up to 30 people in tents.
Bradley said the hours at both shelters are 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. until July, when they close or the nonprofit receives more money. She said if no changes are made, 10 employees will be laid off by July 1. This number could increase.
The cost to fund the emergency shelter in a year is about $1.3 million, Bradley previously said.
Bradley said while shelters are closed during the day, the city is experiencing a “crisis” with an increase in hoaxes and people sleeping in or between empty buildings.
“We have the story of the family with kids who comes and says, ‘Dad works and mom has four kids,’ and they can get the two school-aged kids to go to summer camp, but then have two younger kids who don’t. I I’m not required to go to school and I don’t have anything anywhere [to go] or the possibility of being placed in child care,” Bradley said.
Effects on the family
Potts said his family became homeless after he lost his job at Navistar and has been living at the Sheltered Inc. family shelter since late April. stays. He said the family hopes to eventually end up in the Homefull shelter.
The family has had to prioritize what they take with them when they leave the shelter each day, and they quickly go through supplies like sunscreen, diapers and baby wipes, Potts said. The heavy stroller makes it difficult to drive the bus, so the family walks and stays near the shelter.
Potts is applying for a job, but he said working with a family while homeless is nerve-wracking.
“You wonder all the time, ‘Is my family OK? Did another wheel fall off the wheel? Did I give them enough water and enough food?'” Potts said. “So you go to work and you’re still stressed, you’re still wondering what it’s like here. You can’t take time for yourself.”
Michael Matthews said he both lives and volunteers at the men’s shelter, and has difficulty getting around during the day when the shelter is closed. He has degenerative disc disease but doesn’t qualify for over-55 housing — which would be an option if the men’s shelter closes — and hasn’t been able to find an apartment.
Matthews said the time he spent at the men’s shelter “has been a grace in my life during the most turbulent times I’m going through.”
Matthews said those experiencing homelessness are more than a stereotype; many have health and other problems, and lack a support system.
Potts said many people at the family shelter require medication or other forms of support, and several families and elderly people are housed there.
“A lot of people think homeless people are drug addicts or have drinking problems. I mean, I just tried my best and it didn’t work out,” Potts said.
