2008 Woodie Awards
County sees rise in homelessness
Local agencies focus on healthcare access, transportation for those without shelter
Jillian Engel
Issue date: 3/11/08 Section: Community
They are finding shelter behind buildings, in parks and in cars, but the homeless in Butler County are still not finding shelter in homes.
That is because recent estimates for the homeless population in Butler County are as high as 3,300, according to the counts by the Butler County Homeless and Housing Coalition.
"People don't see the homeless around here as much as they do in larger cities, like Cincinnati or Chicago, so they may be under false impression that homelessness is not a problem, but it is," said Jeffrey Diver, executive director of Supports to Encourage Low-Income Families (SELF) in Hamilton. "It is just that homelessness looks different here."
It's the job of the Butler County Homeless and Housing Coalition to run "counts" twice a year, when staff look behind buildings, between lines of cars, and in parks and wooded areas, such as Hueston Woods, to talk to the homeless and try to get them into social services.
This year, the counts show a few surprising trends, as well as raise issues the community must deal with in response to increasing homelessness in Butler County.
A large demographic within the growing homeless population is the increasing number of 18 to 21-year-olds, according to Kathy Becker, coordinator of Homeless Outreach and Criminal Justice Services at Transitional Living, Inc. in Hamilton.
According to Becker, it is sometimes difficult to recognize the mental health issues of younger people, which are often mistaken for behavioral problems.
"People don't recognize that these young people are facing mental health needs and (instead) parents have to reach a point where they say, 'You can't stay here anymore,'" Becker said.
According to Becker, another problem agencies face is healthcare access. Agencies have found that the longer people are on the streets, the more prone they are to developing health problems such as high blood pressure and substance abuse, Becker said.
Another issue regarding healthcare for the homeless is the flawed notion that once someone has access to a healthcare service (such as Medicaid), that individual will be taken care of by the service, Diver said.
That is because recent estimates for the homeless population in Butler County are as high as 3,300, according to the counts by the Butler County Homeless and Housing Coalition.
"People don't see the homeless around here as much as they do in larger cities, like Cincinnati or Chicago, so they may be under false impression that homelessness is not a problem, but it is," said Jeffrey Diver, executive director of Supports to Encourage Low-Income Families (SELF) in Hamilton. "It is just that homelessness looks different here."
It's the job of the Butler County Homeless and Housing Coalition to run "counts" twice a year, when staff look behind buildings, between lines of cars, and in parks and wooded areas, such as Hueston Woods, to talk to the homeless and try to get them into social services.
This year, the counts show a few surprising trends, as well as raise issues the community must deal with in response to increasing homelessness in Butler County.
A large demographic within the growing homeless population is the increasing number of 18 to 21-year-olds, according to Kathy Becker, coordinator of Homeless Outreach and Criminal Justice Services at Transitional Living, Inc. in Hamilton.
According to Becker, it is sometimes difficult to recognize the mental health issues of younger people, which are often mistaken for behavioral problems.
"People don't recognize that these young people are facing mental health needs and (instead) parents have to reach a point where they say, 'You can't stay here anymore,'" Becker said.
According to Becker, another problem agencies face is healthcare access. Agencies have found that the longer people are on the streets, the more prone they are to developing health problems such as high blood pressure and substance abuse, Becker said.
Another issue regarding healthcare for the homeless is the flawed notion that once someone has access to a healthcare service (such as Medicaid), that individual will be taken care of by the service, Diver said.
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