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Project Connect unveils plan for RAP hub and safe-sleep lot to serve unhoused families
Summary
Project Connect told the board it will move to Taft Elementary and open a wraparound resource center (RAP) and a 12-space safe-sleep parking lot to better serve students and families experiencing homelessness; staff reported rising use of emergency housing and hotel stays.
Project Connect, the Cincinnati Public Schools program that identifies and supports students experiencing homelessness under the federal McKinney-Vento law, told the school board on Aug. 25 it will relocate to Taft Elementary this fall and open a centralized wraparound service hub and a companion safe-sleep parking lot.
Rebecca Beach, manager of Project Connect, said the move to Taft is scheduled for the week of Sept. 8 and will create a Wellness Resources, Access and Partnerships (RAP) center where families can receive housing case management, benefits enrollment, legal assistance connections, expanded food pantry services and referrals to on-site health care. The RAP will also host Hamilton County Jobs & Family Services one day a week to assist with Medicaid, SNAP and other public benefit enrollment.
Project Connect reported last school year it identified and served 4,326 students classified as experiencing homelessness. Beach told trustees the program served nearly 600 unaccompanied youth, almost 700 multilingual learners and enrolled nearly 200 preschool-aged children in CPS preschool programs'its highest preschool enrollment for homeless-identified families. Project Connect logged more than 38,000 services over the year. Beach said the program provided 355 emergency hotel stays and that emergency housing demand recently rose about 34 percent year over year.
To address the rising number of families sleeping in vehicles or otherwise unsheltered, Project Connect will pilot a secure safe-sleep parking lot with 12 spaces, operating roughly 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily. Staff described options observed on study visits to California: fully outfitted FEMA trailers, semipermanent structures with restrooms and showers, and campus-linked lots that provide keyed access to facilities. Project Connect said the model chosen for Cincinnati will include a secure lot, a semipermanent structure with bathroom and shower facilities, and overnight security funded in part by a leveraged United Way grant.
Project Connect is pursuing a CareSource partnership to provide funding for hotel stays and housing case management for CareSource-enrolled families, and it has secured other private and local funding streams to sustain emergency housing services after federal ESSER funds ended. The program is also seeking partners for laundry services and to expand linkages to rapid rehousing and legal services for eviction defense.
Board members praised the program and asked for quarterly updates. Several trustees emphasized the citywide nature of youth homelessness and urged coordination with municipal partners. Board members raised questions about site maintenance, neighborhood concerns, and long-term funding; Project Connect staff said they are holding ongoing conversations with city and nonprofit partners to address those points.
Why this matters: Schools are often the first agency to identify students who are unhoused. Project Connect's plan centralizes services to reduce logistic barriers to school attendance and to move families into shelter or permanent housing more quickly.
Sources: Project Connect presentation and Q&A during Aug. 25 board meeting (Rebecca Beach); program statistics presented to the board.
