Strategies to End Homelessness seeks winter shelter funds

During the coldest months of the year, like this one, the need for emergency shelters increases, as does the need for funding.
 
“We do this on as much of a shoestring budget as we possibly can,” says Kevin Finn, president and CEO of Strategies to End Homelessness—an organization that coordinates services for homeless individuals throughout Cincinnati and Hamilton County.
 
Prior to 2011, finding consistent shelter throughout the winter months was not a possibility. 
 
“Back then, the Cincinnati Recreation Commission would open its Over-the-Rhine facility, but only if the temperature was predicted to go below 10 degrees,” Finn says. “But you can freeze to death when it’s over 10 degrees, and homeless people don’t have a thermometer, nor do they have access to a TV weather forecast.”
 
Increased winter shelter is now available for those who have nowhere else to go from mid-December until the end of February, so long as funding is in place.
 
This year, there was enough funding to increase capacity by adding 60 beds in a portion of the Drop Inn Center, in addition to 40 beds at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, but Finn says additional funding is always needed.
 
“The problem is that in March, it can still be pretty cold,” Finn says. “And any funding we don’t use this winter, we would carry over to next winter. What we already saw this year was the worse case scenario—we had four inches of snow and bitter cold temperatures—but because we didn’t have sufficient money in hand, we couldn’t open the shelter December 1.”

Do Good: 

• Help fund the Winter Shelter by making a donation.

• Volunteer with some of Strategies to End Homelessness' partner agencies to help fight homelessness.

• Connect with Strategies to End Homelessness on Facebook.

By Brittany York
Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a project manager for Charitable Words. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.