The Cincinnati-Hamilton County Continuum of Care for the Homeless (CoC) will host a second community forum on Wednesday to update the public on progress they have made in the "Homeless to Homes" process, and will share and discuss ideas being considered for inclusion in the final plan.

Homeless to Homes began in response to an October 8, 2008 Cincinnati city council ordinance seeking "to ensure that single homeless men and women will have access to shelter facilities that are appropriate, safe and that will provide comprehensive services necessary for homeless individuals to obtain and maintain housing".

The Homeless to Homes process, facilitiated by retired Procter & Gamble executive Jay Price, seeks to develop a "blank slate" approach to homelessness, addressing from the ground up the problems that homeless individuals face such as mental and physical health problems, addictions, lack of education, and other barriers to employment and housing.

Over the past several months, a steering committee, chaired by United Way president for community impact Barbara Terry, has been working with representatives from human service agencies, local foundations and funders, the faith community, and business leaders to develop the comprehensive plan that will substantially reduce the number of people needing shelter services each night.

Public input and nationally-recognized best practices will also be incorporated into the plan.

The CoC forum is open to all and will take place from 4 PM to 6 PM at the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, Rookwood Tower, , Suite 500.

The committee's recommendations are due to be submitted to city council by March 31 and will be used to inform future funding allocations for services to homeless individuals.

In 2007, 3,604 single males and 1,139 single females were served through street outreach, emergency shelters and transitional housing in Cincinnati.

Last October, City staff reported that only 413 emergency shelter beds are available nightly for single individuals.

Photo credit: "rock bottom" by , courtesy of Flickr.

Previous reading on BC:
New plan to help homeless find homes (10/16/08)