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Pathways to Home highlights home-visitation program, new 24/7 community pantry
Summary
Beth Smith, executive director of Pathways to Home, described the nonprofit’s home-visitation program for first-time low-income mothers and a new 24/7 community 'give and take' pantry that has operated since September 2017 to serve families in immediate need.
Beth Smith, executive director of Pathways to Home, told the Harrison City Council that the nonprofit has provided home-visitation services in the Harrison area since 1989 and partners with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to deliver the program.
Smith said the program targets first-time, low-income mothers for the first three years of their child’s life, is funded through the Ohio Department of Health and United Way, and employs eight home visitors who provide approximately 4,000 visits annually to about 250 families in Harrison and surrounding communities.
She also described a new pilot initiative launched in September 2017: a 24/7 outdoor "give and take" community pantry where residents can donate or take food, household and pet supplies. "I don't think that there's been a day that's gone by that there hasn't been enough on our shelves for people to stop and take what they need," Smith said. She added the pantry is meant to be self-sustaining, that the board is collecting data, and that the organization hopes to replicate the pantry model in surrounding communities.
Councilmembers thanked Smith and noted Pathways’ role alongside other local donors and organizations that support Harrison residents.
