Cincinnati Public Schools’ Project Connect presented data and a set of program expansions Wednesday as the district reported continued increases in students experiencing housing instability and detailed plans for a new wrap-around resource center and a proposed safe-sleep parking lot.

Project Connect serves students and families experiencing homelessness under a federally mandated program. Rebecca Beach, who leads Project Connect, said the district served 4,326 students last school year and identified 595 unaccompanied youth. "We served 4,326 students in our district," Beach said.

What Project Connect will open
Beach and staff said Project Connect will relocate in September to Taft Elementary School for an initial "soft opening" of the RAP — Resources, Access and Partnerships — a wrap-around center that will co-locate housing navigation, food access, health screening and partner case management. The RAP will provide ongoing Project Connect services (uniforms, school supplies, school enrollment), expanded emergency food distribution and on-site partners such as Hamilton County Jobs and Family Services and UC Law Center limited representation.

Safe sleep lot proposal
Project Connect outlined a proposal for a supervised safe-sleep lot at Taft to help families sleeping in vehicles or outside be recorded and verified for shelter prioritization. The proposed optimal model would include 12 parking spaces, shower and restroom access, on-site security, morning breakfast for children and a sign-in process so outreach teams can verify residency quickly.

"All of those families would be verified within 24 hours and could quickly be placed on the shelter waiting list," Beach said of the proposed lot’s benefits. Project Connect said it typically sees 4–5 vehicle-sleeping families on any given night and that during the prior year it provided 355 emergency hotel stays.

Why verification matters
Project Connect staff explained that shelter access in the region requires verifying that a family is living in a vehicle or outdoors; verification is performed by street outreach teams and can be delayed because outreach hours often fall when families are already at work or school. Beach said the lot would allow staff to produce a sign-in record showing a family slept on-site and thus be accepted immediately for shelter waitlists.

Partnerships and resources
Project Connect said it has expanded housing navigation using COVID-relief funds and added priority vouchers through the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) to place families more quickly. The program reported increased use of an "order ahead" food program and nearly 38,000 support services delivered districtwide to families experiencing homelessness last year. Project Connect's housing navigator, Megan Rahill, was cited for expanding partnerships and services.

Caveats and timeline
Project Connect said the lot is planned to operate seasonally (March 1–Dec. 1) and would not be open during the coldest months; the program expects to open the RAP in September and would not open the safe-sleep lot until March 2026. Organizers said volunteer and programming details (tutoring, meals, parent programming) will be phased in after an initial trial period. Project Connect gave a contact number for volunteers and partners and asked the community to coordinate through the program rather than arrive without notice.

What was not decided
No council vote or city-level allocation for the safe-sleep lot was recorded in the meeting. Project Connect asked for partnerships and said it is pursuing donor and city support for some services.

Ending
Project Connect framed the RAP and safe-sleep lot as triage and referral points into existing shelter and housing pipelines, not permanent housing solutions. "It is a way to get them into the broader system so that they can access resources that will hopefully sustain housing for them," Beach said.