Strategies to End Homelessness announces that Greater Cincinnati’s year-round shelters are already at or above capacity, increasing the need for additional Winter Shelter capacity
CINCINNATI, OH – December 8, 2016 – The Winter Shelter, which opens each year to ensure that homeless people can access shelter when temperatures drop, will open today and will remain open through February. The Winter Shelter can serve up to 200 homeless people per night over and above Hamilton County’s 675 year-round shelter beds, during the season when demand for shelter is highest.
Over the years, Strategies to End Homelessness, Shelterhouse, Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition and the City of Cincinnati have worked together to add capacity to the local shelter system and ensure that no one freezes outside on the streets. In addition to having a safe, warm place to sleep, our community’s most vulnerable homeless citizens have improved access to support services designed to help them out of homelessness.
For years, the Winter Shelter operated out of makeshift quarters, but this winter will be the second during which such seasonal shelter capacity is provided in a permanent location, allowing the homeless services system to shelter everyone in need during the coldest months of the year. This effort, funded by the City of Cincinnati, operated by Shelterhouse (formerly the Drop Inn Center), and coordinated by Strategies to End Homelessness, is housed within the David and Rebecca Barron Center for Men, located at 411 Gest Street, and serves both men and women.
“We have been working to ensure that everyone who needs to come in off the streets has a warm place to sleep,” said Kevin Finn, president and CEO of Strategies to End Homelessness. “We’ve secured 90% of the funding needed to staff and operate the Winter Shelter through February. Of course, it can still be very cold in March, and if the weather calls for the Winter Shelter to stay open longer, that requires even more resources,” he added.
Donations specifically for the Winter Shelter can be made at www.StrategiestoEndHomelessness.org or by calling 513.263.2785.
About Strategies to End Homelessness
Since 2007, Strategies to End Homelessness has led a comprehensive system of care to assist the homeless in Cincinnati/Hamilton County. Our promise is to end homelessness in our community. Working in partnership with 30 non-profit organizations, Strategies to End Homelessness coordinates a centralized emergency shelter hotline, homelessness prevention, street outreach, emergency shelter and housing solutions toward the goal of ending homelessness. As a result, our community has seen a 100% increase in the number of people served in supportive housing programs since 2007. Local prevention programs have shown a 92% success rate at keeping those most at risk of losing their homes from entering homelessness. Through the work of Strategies to End Homelessness, Cincinnati is recognized nationally as a leader in implementing innovative and effective programs to end homelessness. Strategies to End Homelessness is funded in part by the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, is a United Way Agency Partner, and a Better Business Bureau Accredited Charity. To learn more about Strategies to End Homelessness, and the community’s integrated network of homeless services agencies, visit: www.strategiestoendhomelessness.org
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Kevin Finn
President & CEO, Strategies to End Homelessness
cell 513-708-8054
Tamie Sullivan
Sullivan Communications
