So Why Haven’t You Ended Homelessness Yet?

Rev. Jeff Gill
Licking Co. Coalition for Housing board president

In 1991 a group of folks with various involvements in helping the homeless got together. Some of us were with non-profits, others in agencies, and a few of us came out of a faith community angle.

All of us had experience trying to help people in Licking County whose lives had hit a crisis of some sort, with one major obstacle to resolving the crisis: they became homeless somewhere along the way. Maybe a relationship had ended, possibly with violence the breaking point, perhaps a family situation had pushed them out the door, or an addiction had snowballed into unsolvable dimensions. Sometimes a lost job triggered a financial meltdown that even finding a new (lower paying) job couldn’t stop.

So all of us who were reliant on the Salvation Army and New Beginnings for emergency shelter (and we still are, bless them), and were all already talking to each other regularly to find housing solutions for people working their way out of crisis, formed a, well, "coalition." We pooled some resources, hustled up some others, studied as we worked about "transitional housing" as a step from emergency shelter to getting back to independence, and started LCCH with four units in 1993.

Fifteen years after we got started, thirteen after we began housing folks, I understand perfectly well why people ask: "When are you going to end homelessness?" In all candor, I feel conflicted between my pride in what this county has done co-operatively over those years, but that we now operate over 30 units of "transitional housing."

On the one hand, I can say that since we reached our current size about six years ago, we haven’t felt much need to expand. Even with the county’s growth in population, the need for transitional housing has held fairly steady. That’s a good sign. But if we are effective, shouldn’t we be able to start shrinking? It’s OK to ask that question, and the staff and volunteers reflect on that question maybe more often than you’d think.

The story I told to begin with is a big part of why I don’t see a decline in the need for our services in the near future. People generally don’t maintain "homelessness" as a lifestyle except for a very small, fairly mobile population – which is the picture too many think of when they hear the word "homeless." LCCH is mandated to serve individuals and families who are county residents, and the 400 some folks we deal with in some direct fashion over the year (and thousands more on the phone with general counsel and advice) are local residents who have hit a crisis. If we could stop all crisis situations from happening, we could put ourselves out of business.

Even the handful (less than 20) folks who come from out of county to establish residency and wait to get help are born and raised from here, or have other family who’ve moved here. They may be trying to get a new start, and it is true that if you draw lines from here east, south, southeast or even northeast, you’d have to go a long ways to hit a county with more jobs available than here, even in a bad month. But the common factor is that they are looking to stop living in crisis, and start living on their own.

That’s why I think that we’re here to stay. You can’t stop crisis events which throw good people into bad times. What we can do, and are doing, is try to make sure that as Licking County, say, doubles in size, that we don’t have to be twice as big. One of our big pushes in the coming year is around "financial literacy," for today’s families and for the youth who will head those of tomorrow. If you understand personal economy and fiscal planning a little better, a crisis doesn’t have to put you on the street. We’re very excited about this way of solving homelessness before it happens!

We promise to keep the county informed as we keep working and listening and teaching, trying to figure out what puts families where they don’t want to be, quite frankly, which is with us. To stay in transitional housing means a fair number of rules to follow and freedoms restricted. It ain’t fun. But it is effective, as our funders often tell others that we’re a model for reducing "repeat business," a record we’re proud of. My Christmas was more enjoyable for knowing that people in crisis have a safe place to fall like LCCH and the other agencies we work with, and all of us associated with the Coalition are proud to claim our involvement. Thanks to all those in Licking County who have supported us in 2005, and look forward to hearing more in ’06.