CPS Project Connect to open wraparound resource hub at Taft and pilot a small 'safe sleep' lot for families living in vehicles

Cincinnati Public Schools’ Project Connect team outlined expanded services for families experiencing homelessness, including a September soft opening of a wraparound resource site at Taft Elementary and plans to pilot a small safe-sleep parking lot intended to speed shelter verification for families sleeping in vehicles.

Rebecca Beach, Project Connect manager for Cincinnati Public Schools, told the joint meeting that Project Connect served 4,326 students last year, including 595 unaccompanied youth and 681 multilingual learners, and that staff provided emergency food or pantry services to nearly 2,000 students. Beach said Project Connect increased use of hotel stays as emergency housing (355 students received hotel stays last year) and secured additional priority CMHA (Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority) voucher allocations to help families move into stable housing.

Beach described the RAP (Resources, Access, Partnerships) wellness and resource center set to open in a temporary swing space at Taft Elementary in September. The center will provide educational supports (uniforms, supplies, enrollment help), housing navigation, a health clinic on site, weekly Hamilton County Department of Jobs and Family Services intake for Medicaid and benefit recertification, legal referrals through UC Law Center limited-scope representation, and targeted supports for multilingual families.

Megan Rahill, Project Connect’s housing navigator, and Beach said Project Connect plans to pilot a small safe-sleep lot at Taft, proposing about a dozen parking spaces, overnight hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. (March 1–Dec. 1 seasonal plan), on-site security and supervised intake, restroom/shower access, and connections to case management. Beach said Greater Cincinnati Behavioral would verify families who use the lot within 24 hours so they can be placed on the shelter waiting list more quickly; that verification, she said, is a current barrier because street outreach workers typically verify unsheltered families only once daily and families often move before verification can occur.

Beach emphasized that the safe-sleep lot is framed as a temporary, seasonal pilot that reduces immediate risk and speeds access to the broader shelter and housing pipeline; staff noted the lot is not a long-term housing solution and that many families still return to vehicles while awaiting shelter placement because of long waits and limited housing stock. Officials said Project Connect will continue to expand partnerships with nonprofit and county agencies and thanked the city for grant funding used to expand emergency housing services.

Ending: Project Connect asked the city and community partners to support the RAP and volunteer interest lists; Beach gave a Project Connect phone number for future volunteer coordination and said the safe-sleep pilot is not expected to operate until March of the following year, with a phased approach to add services after initial operation.