By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Fixing homelessness requires more than some cots and warm blankets.
It’s complicated, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done, according to members of the Wood County Housing and Homelessness Coalition.
Local housing issues don’t just cover the person along the road holding a cardboard sign asking for help. The multi-faceted problem includes people who need assistance with emergency shelter, overdue rent, home repairs, or rental deposits to get them over that financial hump.
“There are a lot of people teetering on the edge,” said Kathy Mull, director of the Cocoon domestic violence shelter.
Mull is working with Shannon Fisher, of Wood County Job and Family Services, and Mark Ohashi, director of Habitat for Humanity in Wood County, who together make up the executive committee of the Wood County Housing and Homelessness Coalition.
“No one organization is going to solve the problem,” Ohashi said.
“We’re looking at what’s working well, what’s not working well, what we are missing, where are the gaps,” Fisher said. “The biggest gap is affordable housing in Wood County.” And for many who can’t buy a home, “rent is out of reach.”
The increased difficulty securing affordable housing is evidenced by the average stay at the Cocoon increasing by 30 days, Mull said.
Housing and homelessness problems have worsened in recent years due to multiple factors – lack of affordable homes or rentals, overall costs rising, and no low income housing complex being constructed in the county for 45 years. And those units, last built in 1979, have long waiting lists and have had a lot of wear and tear.
And despite conversations for the past 40 years, Wood County still has no emergency shelter. The closest homeless shelters are in Toledo and Findlay.
“We don’t have a lot of crisis safety nets,” Mull said.
The rising costs of childcare, gas, food and other essentials are also leaving many families with little money for home repairs.
“I see families who are making do, because what they can afford isn’t adequate,” Ohashi said. Ohashi talked about one particular home in Bloomdale, where the owner had no money to get running water to his shower. In that case, Habitat was able to help and installed a new shower.
“Some people don’t have a lot of options,” Ohashi said.
Some help is available for people facing homelessness – but not enough, according to the Wood County Housing and Homelessness Coalition. The idea of an emergency shelter is being revisited, as well as greater assistance with home repairs, back rent, first time rent deposits, vouchers for one or two nights at a hotel, and construction of new homes by Habitat.
The local effort to address homelessness began four decades ago as “Home-Aid.” It later became known as Wood County Continuum of Care. But that effort went far beyond housing, focusing on other needs such as food, health, clothing and employment.
So last summer, the Wood County Housing and Homelessness Coalition was created to focus specifically on housing.
“This allows all of us to get around the table together,” Mull said. “So we’re rowing the boat in the same direction.”
“So we can stay focused on housing,” Fisher said.
The coalition is working to find housing solutions for each problem through education, communication, outreach, research, data collection and advocacy. The goal is making sure individuals and families have access to safe, accessible, affordable housing.
“We want to find a housing solution for every housing problem,” Ohashi said.
The coalition members include: Almar Properties, BG Save Our Neighborhoods Group, City of Bowling Green, GLCAP, Habitat for Humanity of Wood County, NAMI Wood County, St. Vincent St. Rose Conference, Cocoon, Salvation Army, United Way 211, United Way of Greater Toledo, Wood County ADAMHS Board, Wood County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Wood County Committee on Aging, Wood County Department of Job and Family Services, Wood County Planning Commission, and Wood County Veterans Service Office.
Anyone interested in being part of the housing solution may join. For more information, contact Fisher at shannon.fisher@jfs.ohio.gov.
