No solutions: Shelter has limited resources and city has no plan to address homelessness
NEW PHILADELPHIA ‒ Calvin White, executive director of the Friends of the Homeless of Tuscarawas County, said there are no simple answers to addressing the homeless situation in the area.
But making housing more affordable would be a good first step.
"If I had my magic wand, I think that's the first thing I would do," he said.
Added Rebecca Everhart, case manager and housing specialist for the organization, "The biggest issue with the housing situation from my prospective is there's just not enough inventory. We've had guests in the past that have burnt bridges and relationships with landlords, and they no longer want to work with our clientele. Even the ones that really do want to work with us, they just don't have the availability to help us, especially with low-income housing."
Asked about what New Philadelphia is going to do to address the homeless issue, Mayor Joel Day said, "You’d have to talk to the people living in the encampment regarding what they plan to do. The city does not have a long-term plan to deal with homelessness."
Programs to help the homeless
Friends of the Homeless, which operates a shelter in New Philadelphia, participates in two federal programs administered by the state of Ohio ‒ Rapid Rehousing and Homeless Prevention.
Rapid Rehousing is designed for people who are homeless or living in the homeless shelter. It will assist them with the first month's rent and deposit on an apartment and has the ability to assist them with rent for up to a year.
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During the 2021-2022 grant cycle, the program assisted seven families in Tuscarawas County at a cost of $18,707. In the 2023-2024 grant cycle, it has assisted 11 families at a cost of $16,641.
Homeless Prevention is a program for people who are doubling up or living with family or friends, or those facing eviction. It can pay their back rent or help them with the first month's rent and deposit to move into an apartment.
During the 2021-2022 grant cycle, the program paid $23,596 in rent to keep people in this county from being evicted, assisting 13 households. In the latest grant cycle, it has assisted 21 families with rent, for total of a $34,906.
The two programs are funded by the same federal grant, Everhart said. However, the Homeless Prevention program is almost out of money. There is less than $15,000 left for the rest of the year for five counties ‒ Jefferson, Harrison, Columbiana, Carroll and Tuscarawas, unless the state gives permission to move money from Rapid Rehousing to Homeless Prevention.
If the money cannot be moved, the Homeless Prevention program will end until the next grant cycle in 2025, she said.
The money is allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis to the counties.
But getting people into housing does not always solve the problem.
"We have a lot of people that Becky will get into housing, but because of either their mental health issues or addiction issues, that falls apart with in a couple of months and they become homeless again. Some of them do return here," White said.
How many homeless?
Determining the exact number of homeless in Tuscarawas County is also not easy to do. White estimated that there are about 40 people who meet the government's definition of being homeless. But there are at least 50 or 60 people who have no permanent home and are sleeping on someone's couch. The number of homeless is fluid, he noted.
The homeless shelter has a 36-bed capacity. But since the COVID-19 pandemic, the shelter is rarely full, he said. It has between 25 and 30 guests on a regular basis. In 2023, bed capacity was at 73.1%. Before the pandemic, it wasn't uncommon for bed capacity to be at over 100%.
He noted that over the last two years, 76% of the people served by the shelter had either a physical or mental health disability.
There are several homeless encampments in the New Philadelphia area, including one behind Walmart on Bluebell Drive and a couple close to the Tuscarawas River in the vicinity of New Towne Mall. White said he has seen evidence of children living at some of the encampments.
In January, the city of New Philadelphia ordered residents at one encampment on Fourth Street Extension to vacate the property by March 31 or face legal consequences.
Need for outreach case manager
"What we would like to hire is an outreach case manager, for somebody who could go out to encampments and talk to people, try to convince them to come in, make referrals, if need be," White said. "But the way it is now, it's hit and miss. Some of our staff know where some the people are, and they'll occasionally go by, check in with people. That's not consistent. There's no schedule for that."
Friends of the Homeless does not have the resources or staff to do that, he said. However, the organization is considering hiring a development director to write grants, do fundraising and public relations. That position will be filled if money is available, he said.
Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: New Philadelphia has no easy solutions for helping the homelessness
