Owner Update “Question of The Month”

Q: Does TMHA have an affiliation with the new homeless shelter in New Philadelphia?

A. TMHA has kept in close contact with the homeless shelter project. It is a much needed facility in our area. The group, Friends of the Homeless, conceived of the shelter, set up a governing board, raised funds, located a physical facility, hired a director, and organized a volunteer team to get the shelter operational. They accomplished an incredibly monumental job in a relatively short time.

TMHA maintains a collaborative relationship with the shelter primarily through the HOME Network which is a group of organizations, agencies, and individuals who have an interest in providing more housing choices for our area’s low income and homeless families. The point of the HOME Net is to get people who work in the housing area together at one table to join forces, inform each other, and to come up with shared goals for improving housing. Mr. Jack Ream of the Friends of the Homeless group regularly attends, as does Mike Koenig who is the current director of the shelter.

TMHA refers people who come to the housing authority to the shelter when necessary. Since TMHA has a waiting list, it cannot provide immediate housing, so the shelter is a temporary option for them. People often report they are living in their cars, camper, or abandoned building. Sometimes they have no home of their own, but are staying with relatives or friends until they’ve worn out their welcome, and have no other place to go.

Because of the work of the HOME Network and the housing authority, new funds have been awarded to TMHA that should help the homeless situation. TMHA recently received word that it will receive funding for the Tuscarawas Co. Continuum of Care for homeless persons. The amount is $262,440 to be used over a 5-year period to house disabled, homeless individuals and families. This is transitional funding that stipulates that the disabled homeless person(s) must receive medical and social services that will alleviate the reasons for their homelessness, and make the person more self sufficient and less at risk for homelessness.

The HOME Net group was very instrumental in securing this funding by conducting the first-ever official count of homeless people in Tuscarawas Co. in January of 2005 The count showed that on that date 50 people surveyed indicated by their answers that they were living in a place not meant for human habitation.

This count information was very useful for the homeless shelter project at a time when they were seeking private donations and support to proceed with the shelter.



NOTE: The Tuscarawas Co. HOME Network needs the input of owners who are interested in participating in the mission to provide more and better housing for our low-income families. The HOME Net group meets monthly in the TMHA office conference room. Meetings are held at Noon and members bring in a brown bag lunch. Meetings typically last about an hour. If you think you might be interested, call the housing authority and ask to be put on the meeting notice list by giving your e-mail or snail mail address.
 

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