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How the Athens community came together to help the homeless during the polar vortex — and what comes next
By: Theo Peck-Suzuki | Report for America
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB/Report for America) — On the morning of Sunday, Jan. 5, Lucy Juedes was sitting in the pews of Christ Lutheran Church, trying to listen to her pastor’s sermon on the Epiphany. She was worried about the weather.
“I was afraid that, with the Level 3 (snow emergency) coming, that … after it’s done, we would find someone passed away, out in the cold,” Juedes said.
Juedes was thinking of Athens’ growing homeless population. As Christ Lutheran’s treasurer, she knew the church had the resources to help — in particular, there was a heated basement with no one in it in the evenings. It also felt appropriate for a reconciling church that emphasizes the Beatitudes and the idea that “everyone is of infinite worth.” She went to the pastor and asked if she could rent the space for a day or two during the storm. He said yes.
“I knew that there would be a need … and I knew that we could do it,” Juedes said.
Before long, members of the congregation inundated the church with blankets and other sleeping supplies. Juedes herself agreed to spend the night with whomever showed up.
The Gathering Place Executive Director Ginger Schmalenberg said her organization puts people in hotels every year, but this year’s numbers are unprecedented. A post on the organization’s Facebook page offering hotel rooms to unhoused Athens residents was shared over 600 times. Calls came in from as far away as Zanesville. Even after screening most of those out, The Gathering Place spent almost $8,000 on hotel rooms. That’s about how much it usually spends across an entire winter.
“I’ve never spent that much money in like, a day or two,” Schmalenberg said with a laugh.
Schmalenberg attributes the spike to the rapid rise in homelessness in southeast Ohio and throughout the U.S. Experts trace the root of the problem to a lack of housing. Many people just can’t find a place to live, even if they qualify for assistance.
Schmalenberg said some of the people she’s spoken with still have jobs. They’ve told her they used to make enough money to get by. Not anymore.
The recent polar vortex brought renewed urgency to the situation. As the snow closed in, the community stepped up.
“We got about $2,000 just in a two-day period of people donating, and that really helped. I mean, that really, really helped,” Schmalenberg said.
Other local organizations also got to work. Christ Lutheran kept its basement open for two nights while The Gathering Place made new arrangements for the people staying there. Food Not Bombs and the restaurant Tavolino distributed food.
Athens County Foundation Executive Director Kerry Pigman said a growing number of community members are showing an interest in tackling homelessness. The foundation organizes Athens CO-CREATE, a group working to develop local solutions to housing insecurity, among other things. The group met last week, and Pigman said several new people attended.
“It feels even more like this is solvable, like we can make progress together as a community,” Pigman said.
Much remains to be done. Although the storm has passed, the cold weather has not, with temperatures projected to fluctuate wildly in the coming days, with lows some nights in the single digits. Schmalenberg said 34 people are still in hotel rooms and are slated to remain there for at least a week. The money will eventually run out.
But a week, it turns out, may be just enough time. Schmalenberg said city administrators have expressed a willingness to open the former fire station on Columbus Road as an overnight shelter when the temperature gets too low. That could happen in short order.
Athens Service-Safety Director Andy Stone said the idea came up at the recent CO-CREATE meeting. He said the city would provide the “shell” — that is, the building — but that The Gathering Place and other organizations would have to staff and operate it.
“That expertise does not reside in city government,” Stone said. “(Where) The Gathering Place is taking the lead is, they really are kind of filling that role … in helping connect people with resources to provide those human services.”
Pigman said she hopes the experiences of the past week can become a playbook for supporting unhoused people when the next winter storm hits.
“It’s all this sort of ‘learn while doing’ thing,” she said.
The fact that there isn’t already a playbook may come as a surprise to some. Stone said local governments typically respond to specific disasters — a fire, for example, or a power outage. “Low temperatures” alone do not traditionally fall into that category. Without an official emergency, local agencies also lack access to certain kinds of state and federal support.
“It’s an emerging problem,” Stone said. “There’s always been unhoused people to a certain extent. Not this many, and not in the wintertime.”
In an email, Stone praised The Gathering Place for its leadership in addressing homelessness.
“They are really jumping into the void and taking steps to address acute needs,” he wrote.
(Editor’s note: This article previously stated that the city would open Arts West as an overnight warming shelter. On Monday, the decision was made to use the former fire station on Columbus Road for that purpose instead. The article has been changed to reflect that.)