Clermont County is seeking ideas to meet the expanding needs of persons experiencing homelessness. Following the pandemic, the single homeless shelter shuttered, and the county has struggled to find affordable housing.
Sarah Harwood described her recent experience with homelessness.
“Believe me, I was at my breaking point,” Harwood confessed.
Harwood was forced to abandon her home when an electrician warned her about an electrical hazard. With nowhere to go, she described the experience as a domino effect.
“Two weeks out before I lost my place, I lost my job at Frisch’s because they closed down,” Harwood told me.
She then contacted the Clermont County Community Services Office for assistance.
“I didn’t have the funds to pay for a hotel room for 10 days,” Harwood told me.
Clermont County reserved a room for her and her family at a nearby Days Inn.
Clermont County Community Services Executive Director Bellie Kuntz stated that while they now house 30 to 35 persons per month, there is a daily need of 100-150.
Kuntz stated that during the epidemic, the county’s single homeless shelter was unable to maintain social distance, therefore it was closed, and the doors have not been opened again.
“We couldn’t hire enough workers to relaunch the shelter model. “Our funding simply does not allow for it,” Kuntz explained.
She stated that their emergency shelter program is currently at full capacity.
“We just don’t have the resources for the need that’s out there,” Mr. Kuntz explained.
Clermont County officials said they saw people living in tents or even their cars.
Kuntz and other municipal officials are currently working to find a solution.
“I’ve started a homeless coalition,” Kuntz explained. “I think we’ll be successful but it’ll probably be a couple years down the road.”
Kuntz stated that the alliance is in its early beginnings, but they are working to get as many individuals as possible back on their feet, much like Harwood.