Homeless in Columbus, Ohio Only Guaranteed Shelter When the Mercury Drops to 25 Degrees

by Josie Raymond · 2010-11-09 08:10:00 UTC
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Temperatures are dropping and shelter doors are ... closing? While Washington D.C. officials push a plan to turn away non-residents from area shelters, homeless people in Columbus, Ohio have been turned away from shelters with nowhere to seek refuge from temperatures in the 30s.

City rules stipulate that all people are guaranteed shelter when the temperature dips below 25 degrees. (Since 27 degrees, or 29, or 32, isn't dangerous?) But because it was 39 degrees and rainy last week, 41 men and women were turned away from the Faith Mission, where 514 beds were already full.

Here's where the city is stuck between a rock and a hard place. In recent years it has targeted its funding at getting its homeless residents into apartments, rather than adding shelter beds. But now that the economy is forcing people to seek help for the first time, there aren't enough beds to go around. Non-profit officials acknowledge that they might have to rent additional space for temporary shelter this year. It's better to spend the money well the first time to make sure that the city's most vulnerable can get shelter in dangerous temperatures.

As if the need could be more clear, the AP tells the story of Columbus resident Nicole Moberly, 24-years-old, nine months pregnant and homeless. (For the record, she's employed at a fast food restaurant.) As she climbed into a bed in a homeless shelter, she told a reporter, "I am blessed. I saw a girl as far along as I am sleeping out in the rain." Tell Columbus' mayor and city council to guarantee shelter for homeless residents all winter long!

Photo credit: Jason

Josie Raymond is a Change.org editor who has reported from the streets of the South Bronx, written for several magazines that folded (not her fault) and fixed thousands of typos.

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