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Family housing providers tell Hamilton County commissioners family homelessness rose, shelters strained
Summary
A countywide family housing partnership told commissioners more families are seeking help, with more than 2,000 hotline calls last year, limited shelter capacity and higher needs among families that include children and working parents.
Representatives of three family-serving shelter providers and the family housing coalition told the Hamilton County Commission on Feb. 18 that family homelessness in the county has grown and is outpacing available shelter and rehousing capacity.
Peg Derkers of the Family Housing Partnership summarized county hotline and shelter data: "Last year, more than 2,000 families called the central access point expressing a need for help with their housing. After a short screening 697 were eligible for shelter; of those, only 266 families were able to be placed." Derkers added that the partnership found more than 230 families living on the street last year as outreach expanded to identify family homelessness.
The presenters said the population is different in two important ways: many families include working adults and many families have complex, chronic needs. "Family homelessness is hidden. It is not seen. Our families, more than half of them are working," Derkers said, and she noted that families commonly bring three children on average to shelter entries.
Joanna Glover of the YWCA gave service totals and outcomes for shelter programs: "Within our family housing partnership, we offered assistance to 449 individuals, which include more than a thousand children. We also had over 79,000 bed nights between the three shelters." She added longer-term outcomes the providers track: roughly 85% of families moved into housing after shelter, about 50% maintained or increased income, and 85% to 90% remained housed at follow-up intervals.
Presenters described key barriers: limited affordable housing for larger households, loss of flexible daycare and childcare that fits shift work, chronic physical and behavioral health needs (present at elevated rates among the families), and tight wages that make rent unaffordable even for working parents. One example cited: an STNA (state-tested nursing assistant) average monthly gross wage of about $2,500 compared with a recent two-bedroom apartment median rent of $1,682, leaving little margin for emergencies.
Commissioners praised providers and raised next steps. Commissioner Stephanie Summerall Dumas called family homelessness an urgent issue and urged faster action on interim housing such as tiny homes. Commissioner Alicia Reese requested information linking county investments, ARPA-funded programs and shelter outcomes to ensure county dollars are targeted to family needs.
Providers asked the county to consider flexible local funding for family prevention and rehousing, to coordinate data so families are identified earlier (including school liaisons and district partners), and to keep prevention dollars for family-serving programs. The coalition said it will continue to coordinate street outreach, diversion and rapid-rehousing efforts and to share more specific program-level needs with county staff and commissioners.
