DIANE MAKAR MURPHY There's no place like Homeless Solutions

"I will spread the word that this is here," said one resident of Homeless Solutions, the nonprofit organization that helped her beat a drug habit, care for her children and seek a good job. "But you have to want it."
Homeless Solutions helps people with special needs get back on their feet. Begun in 1997, the 89-unit project near the north end of Glenwood Avenue has one-room units and family size apartments that are home to the previously homeless.
As the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio stated in its newsletter, "The program incorporates intensive counseling, education, job training and placement, etc., designed to restore people to the mainstream of society."
"Basically, the people here are special needs from disabilities to drug abuse," explained Maurice White, Housing and Supportive Services Coordinator. "Some have AIDS. Some are women with children. Some are elderly."
To qualify
According to White, residents must be homeless or in the process of becoming homeless, and make $1,300 or less per year on average. "A lot are off the streets or living under the Mahoning or Market Street bridge when we ask them to come here," he said. "Many come from the woods, where they lived in boxes."
Solutions is funded by grants, is almost always full and has a long waiting list. Many rooms are designated for the chronically mentally ill or chronic substance abusers who have little chance of moving on. Others, however, have a two-year boost from the project. Solution's Passages program provides or helps to find community resources to provide job training, counseling and other essentials to successful independent living.
"The main thrust of Passages is getting people jobs," said Ellie Platt, communications coordinator. "Residents are required to get GEDs before being placed. GED classes are offered here."
Applicants must be assessed before becoming residents. "We decide what the person needs," Platt said. "Are there mental health issues? Is there drug abuse?" They also do a vocational assessment, she said, and figure out how to help residents become self-sufficient.
How it was born
Homeless Solutions was formed as an arm of Meridian Services, a private nonprofit group begun in 1972. Meridian began with substance-abuse counseling at its Oak Hill facility. "They found many people with abuse issues had other issues as well. Housing, medical care, unemployment," Platt explained. "We can't address substance abuse until we address other issues. So, now we take a holistic approach."
According to the resident manager of Passages, Kim Tarr, "We get [new residents] involved with a case manager as soon as they move in. Some don't have clothing, soap, toilet paper. We hook them up with agencies. This is deemed independent living, so they go and get the things."
"Our goal," Platt said, "is to break down barriers and make it easier for them to get things they need. One of our biggest roles is cutting through red tape."
Tough challenges
According to Platt and Tarr, the results aren't always what they'd hope for, but no one would doubt the challenge their charges have. "We have different levels of success," Tarr said. "We have a woman who came in illiterate. She was tested and found to have a learning disability. She learned to read a letter from her daughter's teacher. That is a success story."
Another is David Mines, who's about to graduate from Youngstown State University. Mines was homeless, living "pretty much with friends," and six months clean from a drug habit, when he came to Homeless Solutions five years ago. After getting computer skills and a job working with AIDS patients, he took on college and hopes to one day counsel others. Homeless Solutions allowed Mines to get back on track. "I want to go on and get a master's, then a doctorate," he said.
murphy@vindy.com