YOUNGSTOWN Hundreds turn out for event for homeless

The lower number was strategic, meant to assure that all would be served.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Mahoning Valley Homeless Coalition's Stand Down 2003 on Friday drew 670 people to the Salvation Army building on Glenwood Avenue.
There, more than two dozen social service agencies waited with information on how those on the streets, or on the brink, could help themselves. Limited food and clothing also was available.
Last year 888 people registered and 665 showed up. The event this year didn't preregister as many clients as in past years.
The lower signup number was strategic, said George Otto, a Vietnam veteran and the volunteer who organizes the Stand Down, so named for the military term for rejuvenating.
Scheduling
This year, clients were scheduled when to come in, assuring all would be served and lines didn't linger out the door as in the past, he said.
Much of the food and clothing was distributed to relief agencies earlier. That trimmed the number of people who came, he said. Friday was the fourth annual event.
Food and clothes seekers typically already are involved with a social worker or other case workers anyway, said Michelle Evans, president of the homeless coalition.
The Stand Down is for those who need intervention because they are on the street or are about to lose their home, said Evans, who is a nurse with the city health district.
Recent cuts to government social programs and retirees who've lost health and pension benefits are creating more people who are homeless or entering deep poverty, Otto said. Some grandparents who have lost benefits are trying to raise kids, too.
Competing for aid
There is more competition for the remaining help that's out there, too, he said.
"We're feeling the cuts," Otto said.
Homelessness or near-homelessness is caused by more than just a substance-abuse problem, he said. The event brought together social service agencies that can help people with mental health, job training and housing issues.
"We counsel on a wider variety of issues homeless people have," Otto said. "We're finding out more and more about the root causes of homelessness."
The Columbiana County Mental Health Center sent five people to Friday's event to see how it worked and possibly start its own, Otto said.
rgsmith@vindy.com