homeless – Cincy Link https://cincylink.com Explore Cincy Wed, 12 Jul 2023 04:48:26 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 https://cincylink.com/pub/content/uploads/sites/27/2020/03/apple-touch-icon-precomposed-100x100.png homeless – Cincy Link https://cincylink.com 32 32 Massachusetts non-profit trying to end youth homelessness https://cincylink.com/2023/07/12/massachusetts-non-profit-trying-to-end-youth-homelessness/ https://cincylink.com/2023/07/12/massachusetts-non-profit-trying-to-end-youth-homelessness/#respond Wed, 12 Jul 2023 04:48:26 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=163614

BOSTON, Mass.  — Since age 10, E.R. Fletcher has lived most days, not knowing if they have a place to call home. Now 22, Fletcher first ended up living on the streets after leaving an abusive home.

"Homelessness has always intersected my identity growing up," Fletcher said.

Fletcher is also transgender. He is accounting for an estimated 40% of homeless youth who identify as LGBT.

"I should be celebrating this but I’m so busy trying not to starve that I can’t even think of what my identity is," they added.

Millions of young people in this country experience homelessness yearly, including 26-year-old Armani Pascual, who first became homeless at age 15.

"I wasn’t able to finish school because I didn’t know where I would sleep after school so I would stay where I was at so I had a spot," Pascual said.

But Connor Shoen is trying to change the status quo.

"The challenges they’re facing are very different from older adults facing chronic homelessness," the Shoen said.

Back in college, the 23-year-old and a friend were volunteering at a youth homeless shelter in Boston, Massachusetts. They realized many of the young people they saw were experiencing homelessness because they couldn’t hold down a job.

So at 18, Shoen co-founded a non-profit called Breaktime.

"What I saw over and over again when I was working at a youth shelter and young people would get a job for a few weeks but then a few weeks in something would happen," he noted.

The idea of Boston-based Breaktime is to help get homeless youth job training and placement that helps them break the cycle of homelessness long-term. Young people in the program go through three phases of training.

Phase one is “Launchpad,” three weeks of work readiness coaching and financial advising.

Phase two is “Liftoff,” a three-month job placement at a local non-profit or small business. But participants' paychecks are coming from Breaktime thanks in part to grants and donations.

"Young people get to work in the community. They’re on our payroll so they have the security of a paycheck every week and build up skills in the long term," Schoen said.

The final phase of the program is called “Stable Orbit,” where young people get three years of follow-up support as they secure full-time jobs and housing.

"We provide financial assistance, monthly check-ins and intervene when things are going array," Shoen added.

In the last few years the program has helped more than 110 homeless youth find employment, and according to Breaktime, 77% of their alumni also now have stable housing.

Including Armani Pascual.

"I got approved for an apartment because someone sat down and taught me the things I should’ve been taught as a child," Pascual said.

Breaktime’s founders want to eventually get the attention of lawmakers and find a way to expand the program into communities from coast-to-coast.

Their hope is to one day break the cycle of youth homelessness by giving young people the kinds of careers they can flourish in.

"From city hall to the state house to the halls of Congress to ensure legislators are making informed decisions how to advance policy, distributing funding," Shoen said.




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]]> https://cincylink.com/2023/07/12/massachusetts-non-profit-trying-to-end-youth-homelessness/feed/ 0 Where do you go when you gotta go? America’s public bathroom shortage https://cincylink.com/2023/07/05/where-do-you-go-when-you-gotta-go-americas-public-bathroom-shortage/ https://cincylink.com/2023/07/05/where-do-you-go-when-you-gotta-go-americas-public-bathroom-shortage/#respond Wed, 05 Jul 2023 18:50:50 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=169077

If a person has to go to the bathroom while out in public, it may be difficult to find a toilet without some sort of catch. Often, it’s in a coffee shop, a convenience store, a pharmacy, or another private building, so it’s not a true public toilet.

The U.S. has eight public toilets per 100,000 people. That number is comparable with the rate in Botswana and far behind Iceland’s world-leading 56 public toilets per 100,000.

So why is it so hard to find a public toilet in the U.S.?

It’s a question with a complicated answer, and that has a long history. Surprisingly, it relates to many different issues, including public health, social services, and almost every form of discrimination imaginable.

Public toilets were a fact of life in the U.S. and elsewhere for centuries — at least as far back as the Roman Empire. But they were pretty public, without any walls or barriers between them. The expectation for privacy while going to the bathroom in a public space emerged in the 19th century, with the industrial revolution and houses with modern plumbing.

Later on, in the 19th century and into the early decades of the 20th century, sanitation became a greater priority. As leaders began understanding sanitation's role in containing outbreaks of waterborne diseases, cities built and celebrated their public toilets.

Temple University history professor Bryant Simon, who has studied and is writing an upcoming book on the history of toilets, shared more about how toilets used to be a big deal.

"City officials get on their soapboxes and brag about how much they spend on public bathrooms," Simon said. "They brag about the touch points in these bathrooms. They brag about the brass fittings. They brag about the marble countertops. They brag about the floors. They're proud of their accomplishment."

Bathrooms quickly became points where people were segregated. Bathrooms were split up by gender, as they still frequently are. But the splits can be broader than that and lead to discrimination against many different groups.

For example, public toilets started closing as early as the 1930s, with the LGBTQ community as a target.

"Beginning in the 1930s, 1940s, that early, public officials begin to complain about perversions," Simon said. "They begin to complain about same-sex sex in bathrooms. As there are fears about gay sex in bathrooms, there's fear about people drinking in bathrooms. It's not a very popular city sort of thing to build anymore."

In the first half of the 20th century, bathrooms often were segregated by race, with Black Americans, or Latinos in the Southwest, having their own separate facilities.

"The bathroom sort of operates as a kind of hardware of inequality because, essentially, you needed a public bathroom or a bathroom of some sort in order to be out and in public," Simon said.

Racial segregation in toilets may sound like a distant thing or a footnote, but that legacy extends into the present.

In 2018, two Black men were blocked from using the restroom at a Starbucks location in Philadelphia’s Center City. The incident prompted Starbucks to act as America's de facto public toilet. It changed its policy to allow people to use the restrooms at its more than 15,000 U.S. locations without buying anything.

While money can be a barrier to private toilets in stores, historically, it’s limited access to public standalone toilets. By the 1960s and '70s, public toilets requiring small payments sprung up, but those ended up closing after concerns about gender discrimination.

The other big push to remove public toilets came in the 1980s as part of a broader push to drive unhoused people to the edges of cities by taking away their access to public spaces and aggressively enforcing public urination laws.

Now if you don’t have a home of your own, it can put access to a restroom pretty far away.

"Most of us are used to having our own bathroom," said Raven Drake, Street Roots ambassador program manager. "Where I lived when I was unhoused, the nearest bathroom was a one-mile walk away. Imagine walking a mile to the bathroom, and most of us can't fathom walking 50 feet to our bathroom, much less a mile."

Drake works with unhoused people in Portland as part of the local newspaper Street Roots. She’s an advocate for bathroom access as a central part of addressing homelessness, and she was unhoused herself in late 2019 and early 2020 during some of the strictest shutdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We ran a survey around bathrooms, around the importance of bathrooms and access to clean water with the Joint Office of Homeless Services, and a resounding amount of people answered that they had no access to public restrooms," Drake said. "So we took forth on this initiative of placing throughout the city 172 port-a-potties."

Underinvestment has been a major concern, too. If public toilets aren’t funded or attended to, they can fall into disrepair. They can potentially become unsafe or unhygienic.

Starbucks announced in July that it would close 16 stores due to safety concerns. CEO Howard Schultz said in June that the coffee giant might restrict its currently public restrooms to customers only as part of its broader push for store safety.

So, if Starbucks decides to no longer serve as America’s public restroom, where will people be able to go? Even if a person isn't homeless, bathroom access advocates like American Restroom Association president Steven Soifer point out this is an issue.

"For everyone, for people with shy bladder, for people with incontinence, for people with bladder issues of different sorts," Soifer said. "People who had health issues and families with children who often struggle to find a place."

Soifer is calling on government officials to step up here, but it may have to be local officials taking the lead.

"There are going to be fewer and fewer options for people to be able to relieve themselves, and that becomes a public health issue as well," Soifer said.

The consequences can be deadly for communities if no bathrooms are available. In 2017, at least 16 people died, and hundreds more got sick in San Diego in an outbreak of hepatitis A.

The disease spread largely due to contact with fecal matter and public defecation.

The city acknowledged that a lack of public restrooms, especially for unhoused people, was part of the issue and helped contain the outbreak by installing public toilets and handwashing stations.

But even then, a lack of funding or upkeep can quickly lead to toilets disappearing. Earlier this year, San Diego State University researchers reported that many toilets were closed after the COVID-19 pandemic. That nearly half the county’s census tracts, home to 40% of the population, had no public restrooms.

Other cities are moving ahead with plans to install new public toilet facilities, including Portland, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. But there’s still a shortage of public toilets in the U.S., and it’s pretty dire.

In 2011, a United Nations independent expert, Catarina de Albuquerque, studied water and sanitation rights on a mission to the U.S. Her report found an instance in Sacramento, California, where public restroom closures and enforcement of public urination and defecation laws led to a homeless person traveling miles to dump a whole community’s human waste.

In the report, she indicated that the laws had a discriminatory effect and led to "a violation of human rights that may amount to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment.”

Newsy is the nation’s only free 24/7 national news network. You can find Newsy using your TV’s digital antenna or stream for free. See all the ways you can watch Newsy here.




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]]> https://cincylink.com/2023/07/05/where-do-you-go-when-you-gotta-go-americas-public-bathroom-shortage/feed/ 0 Climate change is putting the homeless population at risk https://cincylink.com/2023/06/05/climate-change-is-putting-the-homeless-population-at-risk/ https://cincylink.com/2023/06/05/climate-change-is-putting-the-homeless-population-at-risk/#respond Tue, 06 Jun 2023 02:41:37 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=186464

WASHINGTON, D.C. — More intense severe weather events fueled by climate change are disproportionately impacting homeless Americans, who are already more vulnerable to the elements while living outside.

As the president of Central Union Mission in Washington D.C., Joe Mettimano sees how the weather dictates a lot of what they do, including how many people come through the doors. An average of 5,000 people rely on the shelter each month.

"People who are homeless, who prefer being outside, find it easier to sleep outside in the summertime versus cold and rain in the winter," Mettimano said.

The worse the weather, the more people who end up coming to shelters like this one across the country, looking for a dry or warm place to take refuge.

"People are people, and the weather impacts all of us in different ways," he added.

But climate change is creating more extreme weather events, putting those who are homeless in even more precarious positions.

America has experienced an urban flood event once every two to three days for the last 25 years. Climate change is only exacerbating the frequency of extreme flood events. The estimated 500,000 Americans who experience homelessness each year usually feel the impacts first.

"When there is more rain, more storms, more snowfall, hotter summers, it does put more demands on us," Mettimano said.

There’s a mental health aspect to all of this as well.

"It’s a very vulnerable place to be in. It’s also very dehumanizing when you’re sleeping in an alley and people won’t make eye contact with you, but the weather absolutely plays a role in all that. If you’re outside, you can sometimes find shelter under a bridge. It’s still cold. It’s still raining," Meetimano added.

To help those who are living out in the elements, Central Union Mission offers folks a wide range of preventative medical care from dental checkups to doctor visits, all for free.

"We save lives every day because of work like that," he said.




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]]> https://cincylink.com/2023/06/05/climate-change-is-putting-the-homeless-population-at-risk/feed/ 0 As federal funds dry up, nonprofits worry about housing people https://cincylink.com/2023/06/04/as-federal-funds-dry-up-nonprofits-worry-about-housing-people/ https://cincylink.com/2023/06/04/as-federal-funds-dry-up-nonprofits-worry-about-housing-people/#respond Sun, 04 Jun 2023 04:09:08 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=187695

BERRLIN, Vt. — Off the side of a busy road is a humble motel that has been remodeled to fit a growing need similar to that seen in communities across the country.

This is the only empty room at this shelter owned by Good Samaritan Haven in Central Vermont and it will only be empty for another hour as someone who needs shelter is moving in. The goal here is to move people out into permanent housing, but that permanent housing is getting harder to find. Some are waiting months to a year for the next available housing.

"There's a big bottleneck of housing options so that that leaves people to whether they might be ready or not to move on. The housing options might not be there. They simply aren't there," said Julie Bond, the co-executive director of the organization.

This area right outside the state’s capital is feeling the crush of a lack of available housing and the intense need to house people. Co-executive directors Julie Bond and Rick DeAngelis say they have been scrambling to help 100% more people than they were serving in 2019.

"I'm not even sure I can tell you why, except that there is a rental house in crisis in Vermont and that together with other factors has left a lot of people in a tough spot," said Rick.

With American Rescue Plan money, the state has been able to afford to take people out of congregate shelters and into motels and hotels, along with other rental and emergency assistance, which helped greatly but that money from the one-time federal payment will be spent in the spring.

"There will be some percentage of the folks who are in motels that will stay there with state assistance, but I am expecting that the lion's share will be, it'll just be over and they'll have to find, um, some other place to live," said Rick.

After skipping a year due to the pandemic, the latest point-in-time data from HUD shows 582,462 people were homeless in 2022, a .3% increase since 2020, however, the number of unsheltered people jumped almost 4%.

Although the ARPA funds are drying up, there is hope for more aid.

In December, the Biden administration announced the ‘All In Federal Strategy to End Homelessness” which hopes to reduce the number of unhoused people 25% by 2025, with an emphasis on “housing first” policies. The omnibus spending package also includes $6.4 billion for HUD than the year before to address housing.

"My hope is that as a state, we are coming together for more affordable housing options that are, that are creative, that are quick, that are things that are going to, to help in the, to stave off the immediacy of the need," said Julie.

While these long-term plans fall into place at the federal level, Rick and Julie say they’re still running out of time to fit the needs of today.

They are hoping for more action on local levels to address housing needs more efficiently; programs like home sharing or people using their short-term rentals for long-term homes are a couple of solutions they want to see.

"Is there a way to shift from a profit-minded space to a compassion and heart-centered need-based economy right now? You know, that's the, that's the hope," Julie said.

Big federal plans are a good thing, they tell me. But to address the day-to-day realities they see, actions at this point are necessary to continue the good they still need to do.

"We're just not meeting the need enough. There are so many people suffering with substance abuse and mental health issues. We provide a very basic service here, and I wish we could be providing more," said Rick.




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]]> https://cincylink.com/2023/06/04/as-federal-funds-dry-up-nonprofits-worry-about-housing-people/feed/ 0 Crews respond to report of fire, Sixth & Central near Queensgate https://cincylink.com/2023/05/25/crews-respond-to-report-of-fire-sixth-central-near-queensgate/ https://cincylink.com/2023/05/25/crews-respond-to-report-of-fire-sixth-central-near-queensgate/#respond Thu, 25 May 2023 13:02:48 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=195001

Crews respond to a report of a fire on Sixth and Central near Queensgate



MIDDLETOWN POLICE DRAWN INTO A SHOOTOUT IN AN APARTMENT COMPLEX. NEIGHBORS TELL US WHAT THEY SAW BEFORE THE BULLETS STARTED TO FLY. PLUS, MORE THAN 70 GUNS BOUGHT ONLINE WITH STOLEN CREDIT CARD NUMBERS SHIPPED TO CINCINNATI. INVESTIGATORS TRACKED DOWN THE SCHEME TO TEN PEOPLE AND THE CHARGES THEY’RE FACING. YES, IT IS STILL FREEZING, BUT MILDER DAYS ARE ON THE WAY. THE TIME LINE FOR A STRAY SHOWER TODAY AND WHAT TO WEAR FOR ALL THE BIG EVENTS IN TOWN THIS WEEK. THIS IS W L W E. T NEWS 5 TODAY. LEADING THE WAY. WELL, WE HAVE A THEME IN OUR WEATHER FOR THE WEEK. CHILLY TEMPERATURES, ESPECIALLY AS WE START THE DAY. THANKS FOR BEING WITH US THIS MORNING. I’M STEVEN ALBRITTON AND I’M LACEY ROBERTS. AND THAT MEANS DIAL UP THAT HEAT AND NOTCH A COUPLE OF NOTCHES. I DID. AND GIVE YOUR KIDS THOSE EXTRA LAYERS ON THEIR WAY TO SCHOOL. LET’S CHECK IN WITH METEOROLOGIST RANDI RICO. SHE’S TIMING OUT HOW LONG WILL STAY IN THE THIRTIES TODAY. WHY TODAY? IT’S JUST. JUST A STARTING POINT. AND THE GOOD NEWS IS THIS IS THE COLDEST START FOR THE NEXT WEEK. SO THINGS ARE TRENDING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. IT’S JUST THAT WE DIG OURSELVES A BIG OLD GET OUT OF TO START WITH. SO THIS MORNING WE ARE STARTING OUT ONCE AGAIN WITH A FROST ADVISORY FOR THE COUNTIES IN THE LIGHT BLUE. A FREEZE WARNING IN THE DEEPER BLUE OR PURPLE TONE. ALL OF THAT GOES UNTIL 9 A.M. AND IT DOESN’T MATTER WHERE YOU ARE IN GREATER CINCINNATI, IT IS GENERALLY A PRETTY CHILLY START HERE. SO LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE TEMPERATURES RIGHT NOW IN CINCINNATI, WE’VE GOT 37 DEGREES. DELL, HIGHS DOWN TO 31. SAME THING IN LOVELAND, 30 CURRENTLY IN HARRISON, 34, MIDDLETOWN IN SPRINGBURN, 32, FLORENCE AND INDEPENDENCE. SO IT’S A CHILLY START. PRETTY CLOSE TO FREEZING ACROSS MUCH OF GREATER CINCINNATI. BUT THINGS ARE GOING TO BE IMPROVING AS WE GET INTO THE AFTERNOON. NOW YOU’LL NOTICE HERE, HIGH TEMPERATURES UP TO AROUND 60 OR SO, EXCEPT ACROSS THOSE NORTHERN STRETCHES WHERE THE CLOUDS ARE JUST A LITTLE BIT THICKER AS WE GO THROUGH THE DAY. BUT THIS IS A BIG IMPROVEMENT FROM WHERE WE WERE YESTERDAY. SO FOR TODAY, PLAN ON TEMPERATURES NEAR FREEZING FOR THE MORNING RUSH OR INTO THE FORTIES BY ABOUT NINE OR 10 A.M. AND BY THE TIME WE GET INTO THE AFTERNOON UPPER FIFTIES TO RIGHT AROUND 60 DEGREES NOW WE SHOULD BE CLOSER TO 70 THIS TIME OF YEAR. AND THERE’S ONE DAY THIS WEEK THAT WILL LOOK LIKE THAT. WE’LL TALK ABOUT WHICH STAGE OF DRESS FOR SPRING WHICH IS MAYBE A LITTLE BIT MORE LIKE WINTERTIME COMING UP. RANDI, THANK YOU SO MUCH. WE APPRECIATE IT. A SWAT STANDOFF, A SHOOTOUT WITH POLICE IN MIDDLETOWN AND A PERSON RUSHED TO THE HOSPITAL IN CRITICAL CONDITION. POLICE TELL US THAT SUSPECT IS IN CRITICAL CONDITION. LIKE YOU SAID, STEPHEN, AFTER THAT SHOOTOUT. NOW, IT ALL HAPPENED AT AN APARTMENT COMPLEX ON PARK LANE NEWS WLWT NEWS 5 WEATHER CHARLES IS LIVE AT THE MIDDLETOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT THIS MORNING WITH THE LATEST ON THIS ONGOING INVESTIGATION. GOOD MORNING, RICHARD. GOOD MORNING. GETTING A CHANCE TO TALK WITH CHIEF BURKE HERE AT THE MIDDLETOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT. HE TELLS US THAT OHIO BCI WILL BE THE LEAD ORGANIZATION INVESTIGATING THIS OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING IN THE SHOOTOUT WITH POLICE. THAT SUSPECT, AS YOU MENTIONED, WAS TRANSPORTED TO A HOSPITAL IN CRITICAL CONDITION. BUT AT THIS TIME, LOTS OF INFORMATION AND STILL UNFOLDING AS TO WHAT LED TO THIS INCIDENT. NOW, OHIO BCI, AGAIN, THE LEAD ORGANIZATION INVESTIGATING THIS INCIDENT, CONTINUING AT THIS TIME. ACCORDING TO MIDDLETOWN, POLICE SUSPECT HAD ONGOING PROBLEMS WITH THE BUTLER COUNTY CRISIS TEAM. THE DEPARTMENT SPECIAL RESPONSE TEAM LATER CALLED IN, BUT THE SUSPECT FIRING AT OFFICERS. MIDDLETOWN POLICE CHIEF DAVID BURKE SAYS THE SUSPECT WAS HIT MULTIPLE TIMES IN THE FOOT AND THE SHIN. A STATE INVESTIGATORS WERE CALLED TO THE SCENE. NEIGHBORS TELL US THEY NEVER EXPECTED SOMETHING LIKE THIS TO HAPPEN IN THEIR COMMUNITY. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT AT THIS TIME, THIS WAS JUST GOING OUT THE BUS ON THE ROAD LIGHT COMING OUT FROM MADISON GARRITY. YOU’LL SEE THE COPS OUT HERE IN THIS CASE. I’M JUST SURPRISED. I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT I WE’LL HAVE IT HERE. I WILL. THIS IS THE SECOND OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING TO TAKE PLACE IN MIDDLETOWN OVER THE LAST TWO MONTHS. THIS DEPARTMENT DOES NOT HAVE BODY CAMS. AGAIN, THE OHIO BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIONS CONTINUING INVESTIGATION AT THIS TIME. JUST BEGINNING THEIR PROCESS. WE’LL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW BRING YOU MORE REPORTING LIVE THIS MORNING. RICHARD CHILES, WLWT NEWS 5. THANK YOU, RICHARD. AND INVESTIGATE. IT IS UNDERWAY THIS MORNING AFTER A BODY WAS PULLED OUT OF THE OHIO RIVER NEAR ANDERSON FERRY LAST NIGHT. BUTTE COUNTY FIREFIGHTERS CONFIRMED THE VICTIM IS A MAN, BUT NO OTHER DETAILS WERE RELEASED. WE ARE STILL WORKING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CIRCUMSTANCES LEADING UP TO HIS BODY BEING FOUND. AND OF COURSE, WE’LL BRING THOSE DETAILS TO YOU HERE ON AIR AND ONLINE AT WLWT. ECOM ALSO DEVELOPING THIS MORNING, TEN PEOPLE ARE FACING FEDERAL CHARGES FOR BUYING MORE THAN 70 GUNS ILLEGALLY. PROSECUTORS SAY THE DEFENDANTS BOUGHT THE GUNS FROM OTHER STATES AND HAD THEM SHIPPED TO CINCINNATI. WLWT NEWS 5 MEREDITH STUTZ IS HERE WITH WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE SUSPECTS AND HOW LONG THEY COULD SPEND IN PRISON IF CONVICTED HERE. MEREDITH. YES, GOOD MORNING. YOU DEFINITELY WHEN TO LISTEN TO THE DETAILS OF THIS STORY. SO WE DO KNOW THAT THE INDICTMENT WAS JUST EIGHT UNSEALED ON FRIDAY UNSEALED. BUT AS OF THE TEN COKE CONSPIRATORS INDICTED, EIGHT OF THEM ARE FROM CINCINNATI. NOW, PROSECUTORS SAY THE DEFENDANTS BOUGHT THE GUNS IN 2022 USING A STOLEN CREDIT CARD INFORMATION AND HAD THEM SHIPPED TO CINCINNATI WHILE ATTEMPTING TO HIDE THE IDENTITY OF THE TRUE BUYERS. IN TWO SEPARATE INDICTMENTS, THE TEN SUSPECTS ARE ACCUSED OF SHIPPING 74 GUNS TO CINCINNATI AND SUCCESSFULLY OBTAINING AT LEAST 47 OF THEM. RODERICK JOE ALLEN IS THE ONLY ONE WHO WAS NOT YET BEEN ARRESTED. NOW, IF YOU KNOW WHERE HE IS, YOU ARE ASKED TO CONTACT THE ATF. WE WE TALKED WITH JEFF MONROE, WHO IS PRESIDENT OF 2 TO 3 IN LEBANON. HE EXPLAINS WHY LYING ON REQUIRED FORMS DURING A GUN BUY IS A CRIME. THEY CALL THAT A STRAW PURCHASE. ANY TIME THAT SOMEONE COMES INTO A GUN DEALER AND THEY AND THEY PURCHASE A FIREARM, THEY HAVE TO FILL OUT WHAT’S CALLED A 4473. IT’S A BACKGROUND CHECK FORM. AND ON THAT FORM, THEY HAVE TO SAY THAT IT IS ACTUALLY FOR THEM. IN THIS CASE, THEY WERE SAYING IT WAS FOR THEM, BUT IT WAS REALLY FOR SOMEONE ELSE. IF YOU LIE ON THAT FORM, IT’S A FEDERAL OFFENSE AND THEY’RE BEING CHARGED FOR THAT. RIGHT NOW, IT’S NOT CLEAR YET IF ANY OF THE 47 GUNS THAT WERE BOUGHT HAVE BEEN CONFISCATED BY THE SUSPECTS ARE ALSO CHARGED WITH PGP FRAUD FOR ALLEGEDLY APPLYING AND RECEIVING MORE THAN $120,000 IN PANDEMIC RELIEF MONEY FOR BUSINESSES.

Crews respond to a report of a fire on Sixth and Central near Queensgate


Crews respond to a report of a fire on Sixth and Central near Queensgate. It is believed to be in the homeless camp and is obstructing access to the highway.For live traffic updates, click here.Click the video player above to watch other afternoon headlines from WLWT News 5This story was curated by Hearst's WLWT Alert Desk.Do you have photos or video of an incident? If so, upload them to https://www.wlwt.com/upload. Be sure to include your name and additional details so we can give you proper credit online and on TV.

CINCINNATI —

Crews respond to a report of a fire on Sixth and Central near Queensgate. It is believed to be in the homeless camp and is obstructing access to the highway.

For live traffic updates, click here.

Click the video player above to watch other afternoon headlines from WLWT News 5

This story was curated by Hearst's WLWT Alert Desk.

Do you have photos or video of an incident? If so, upload them to https://www.wlwt.com/upload. Be sure to include your name and additional details so we can give you proper credit online and on TV.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2023/05/25/crews-respond-to-report-of-fire-sixth-central-near-queensgate/feed/ 0 Davis, California stabbings: What we know https://cincylink.com/2023/05/25/davis-california-stabbings-what-we-know/ https://cincylink.com/2023/05/25/davis-california-stabbings-what-we-know/#respond Thu, 25 May 2023 12:17:28 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=195585

Officials in Davis, California, have lifted an overnight shelter-in-place order after they were unable to find a suspect in a knife attack late Monday -- the third such incident following two fatal stabbings in less than a week near the campus of the University of California, Davis.The startling advice for students not to venture out following Monday's stabbing, which left a woman in critical condition. That attack was preceded by the killings Saturday evening of a UC Davis senior and Thursday of a 50-year-old man at different parks near campus. About 40,000 students are enrolled at the public university in Davis, a city of some 68,000 people about a 20-minute drive west of the state capital, Sacramento.Authorities in Davis, California are searching for a suspect after three people were stabbed in less than a week in the city.Two people died, and one woman is in critical condition in the incidents that have shaken the small university town. Video above: Witnesses say their friend was stabbed by Davis attackerThe city sent out an alert to residents around 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday calling for a shelter in place. That shelter-in-place has since been lifted but police have yet to find the suspect, whose description now matches the assailant in two of the recent stabbings.Here’s everything we know about the stabbings right now:Who was killed?On April 27, David Breaux was identified as the man who was stabbed to death in Davis’ Central Park. Breaux was a well-known community member and a positive presence around town, often referred to as the "Compassion Guy" for asking others about their definition of "compassion."A message from the Davis mayor, police chief and other city officials said that Breaux was a Stanford graduate who was "instrumental" in the addition of a "Compassion Bench" at the corner of 3rd and C Streets in 2013. Two days later, Karim Abou Najm, a 20-year-old UC Davis student, was stabbed and killed at Davis’ Sycamore Park while going home from an undergraduate awards ceremony. The student was studying computer science and was set to graduate in six weeks, according to his father, Majdi Abou Najm, who also said his son already had two jobs lined up for after graduation."We moved from Lebanon in 2018 when the situation in Lebanon was a little bit starting to go in not the right direction," Abou Najm said. "We came here hoping for safety." Who was hurt?A 64-year-old woman who has not been identified was stabbed the night of May 1 at a homeless encampment in Davis on 2nd and L streets. Video above: Chief of police at UC Davis speaks out on deadly stabbingsThe woman was found after a 911 call, and she told authorities she had been stabbed more than once through a tent. She was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition and has undergone surgery. Witness Christine Barrios said that their friend was the woman who was stabbed and that the victim had thought at first that she had been punched.Where did the stabbings happen?Breaux was stabbed and killed at Davis’ Central Park. Najm was stabbed and killed at Davis’ Sycamore Park. The third person, an unidentified woman, was stabbed in the area of 2nd and L streets.Are the incidents related? Is this a serial killer?Police said it is possible the stabbings are connected. In at least two of the stabbings, a description of the suspect was similar. Do authorities have any leads on a suspect?Authorities are looking for a man with a light complexion, curly hair, 5 feet and 6 inches to 5 feet and 9 inches tall, and a thin build. He is believed to be wearing a black or blue sweatshirt, black Adidas pants with stripes and carrying a brown backpack.A similar description was issued for the suspect in the stabbing death of Abou Najm. Who is investigating the stabbings?The FBI has been called in to help with the investigation into stabbings."We're a small agency and we're working around the clock with the personnel that we have now. I have detectives sleeping under their desks for a couple of hours, staying away from their families," Dan Beckwith with Davis police said on Monday. Are there any increased safety protocols for UC Davis students?As an added precaution, the university said it is increasing escort availability for its Safe Ride program for students.Video above: UC Davis students concerned for safety following deadly stabbings Those rides from campus into the city will now be available from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. daily, according to the university. CNN contributed to this report.

Officials in Davis, California, have lifted an overnight shelter-in-place order after they were unable to find a suspect in a knife attack late Monday -- the third such incident following two fatal stabbings in less than a week near the campus of the University of California, Davis.

The startling advice for students not to venture out following Monday's stabbing, which left a woman in critical condition. That attack was preceded by the killings Saturday evening of a UC Davis senior and Thursday of a 50-year-old man at different parks near campus. About 40,000 students are enrolled at the public university in Davis, a city of some 68,000 people about a 20-minute drive west of the state capital, Sacramento.

Authorities in Davis, California are searching for a suspect after three people were stabbed in less than a week in the city.

Two people died, and one woman is in critical condition in the incidents that have shaken the small university town.

Video above: Witnesses say their friend was stabbed by Davis attacker

The city sent out an alert to residents around 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday calling for a shelter in place. That shelter-in-place has since been lifted but police have yet to find the suspect, whose description now matches the assailant in two of the recent stabbings.

Here’s everything we know about the stabbings right now:

Who was killed?

On April 27, David Breaux was identified as the man who was stabbed to death in Davis’ Central Park.

Breaux was a well-known community member and a positive presence around town, often referred to as the "Compassion Guy" for asking others about their definition of "compassion."

A message from the Davis mayor, police chief and other city officials said that Breaux was a Stanford graduate who was "instrumental" in the addition of a "Compassion Bench" at the corner of 3rd and C Streets in 2013.

Two days later, Karim Abou Najm, a 20-year-old UC Davis student, was stabbed and killed at Davis’ Sycamore Park while going home from an undergraduate awards ceremony.

The student was studying computer science and was set to graduate in six weeks, according to his father, Majdi Abou Najm, who also said his son already had two jobs lined up for after graduation.

"We moved from Lebanon in 2018 when the situation in Lebanon was a little bit starting to go in not the right direction," Abou Najm said. "We came here hoping for safety."

Who was hurt?

A 64-year-old woman who has not been identified was stabbed the night of May 1 at a homeless encampment in Davis on 2nd and L streets.

Video above: Chief of police at UC Davis speaks out on deadly stabbings

The woman was found after a 911 call, and she told authorities she had been stabbed more than once through a tent.

She was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition and has undergone surgery.

Witness Christine Barrios said that their friend was the woman who was stabbed and that the victim had thought at first that she had been punched.

Where did the stabbings happen?

Breaux was stabbed and killed at Davis’ Central Park. Najm was stabbed and killed at Davis’ Sycamore Park. The third person, an unidentified woman, was stabbed in the area of 2nd and L streets.

Are the incidents related? Is this a serial killer?

Police said it is possible the stabbings are connected. In at least two of the stabbings, a description of the suspect was similar.

Do authorities have any leads on a suspect?

Authorities are looking for a man with a light complexion, curly hair, 5 feet and 6 inches to 5 feet and 9 inches tall, and a thin build. He is believed to be wearing a black or blue sweatshirt, black Adidas pants with stripes and carrying a brown backpack.

A similar description was issued for the suspect in the stabbing death of Abou Najm.

Who is investigating the stabbings?

The FBI has been called in to help with the investigation into stabbings.

"We're a small agency and we're working around the clock with the personnel that we have now. I have detectives sleeping under their desks for a couple of hours, staying away from their families," Dan Beckwith with Davis police said on Monday.

Are there any increased safety protocols for UC Davis students?

As an added precaution, the university said it is increasing escort availability for its Safe Ride program for students.

Video above: UC Davis students concerned for safety following deadly stabbings

Those rides from campus into the city will now be available from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. daily, according to the university.

CNN contributed to this report.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2023/05/25/davis-california-stabbings-what-we-know/feed/ 0 ‘Street barber’ providing Las Vegas’ homeless with haircuts https://cincylink.com/2022/01/05/street-barber-providing-las-vegas-homeless-with-haircuts/ https://cincylink.com/2022/01/05/street-barber-providing-las-vegas-homeless-with-haircuts/#respond Wed, 05 Jan 2022 18:47:27 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=134607

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (KTNV) — From living on the streets to giving back to the homeless community, Dana Canfield is the "Street Barber" of Las Vegas. He gives free haircuts to men and women living on the streets.

“All I ever wanted when I was out there was a haircut and a fresh shower to give me a jump-start to a new life,” Canfield said.

Barbering is in Canfield’s blood. Both of his grandfathers ran barbershops in California in the 1940s.

“I remember growing up in my grandfather’s garage, and there were barber chairs everywhere and I even got a pair of scissors from 1945," Canfield said.

Yet Canfield didn’t follow the family trade of trimming right away. He moved to Las Vegas, and his life took a turn for the worst.

“I had a big house. I worked about 15 years ago in the automotive industry, and I found myself kind of overindulging in some things in the city, and I ended up homeless," Canfield said.

For nearly four years, Canfield lived on the streets battling drug addiction and run-ins with the law. However, during that time, he grew an appreciation for his fellow neighbors living outside, all while recognizing a basic need that was not offered in the homeless community.

Once Canfield went through rehab and back on his feet, he wanted to give back.

“The haircuts really provide a little bit of hope; a little bit of a jump-start in their life," Canfield said.

Currently, Canfield is halfway through barber school. Like his grandfathers, he says he plans to open up a barbershop while continuing to serve the Las Vegas homeless community.

Canfield pops up at various events, rescue missions or just on Las Vegas Boulevard.

This story was originally published by Rachel Moore on KTNV.com.




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]]> https://cincylink.com/2022/01/05/street-barber-providing-las-vegas-homeless-with-haircuts/feed/ 0 Homeless man, who has lived in woods for three years, now faces eviction https://cincylink.com/2021/10/21/homeless-man-who-has-lived-in-woods-for-three-years-now-faces-eviction/ https://cincylink.com/2021/10/21/homeless-man-who-has-lived-in-woods-for-three-years-now-faces-eviction/#respond Thu, 21 Oct 2021 04:48:36 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=22333

Detective Scott Mandella is hiking near Burien, Washington. With him are two outreach workers. They’re looking for homeless people who, Mandella says, live in the woods.

Right now, he’s looking for someone in particular: a man by the name of Ed Davis.

“Have you made any efforts to reach out to the VA lately? What do you got going on man? You deserve a lot more than this,” Mandella said to Davis after locating him.

Davis replied, "Well, I applied for the stimulus and all that."

Davis says he’s lived in these woods for about three years. It's been three years with no heat, dealing with the elements, and fighting to survive.

His story is a lot like others who end up homeless. He made some mistakes, and now he’s paying for them.

“Years ago, I sold my house, out in the peninsula. I had good intentions of reinvesting it," he recalled. "When I have problems, I kind of get into a self-destructive mode, and I blew the money. Started doing drugs and everything. You know, I battled with it for quite some time and ended up out here,” said Davis.

It may not look like much, but Davis has built a walkway down to where he sleeps, decorated his front entrance, and he even keeps fresh milk from spoiling by cooling it in the stream that runs by.

He isn’t the only one who lives here. The outreach workers brought sandwiches and left some for the other people living in the camp, who were present at the time.

But Mandella came for a different reason, and it was to let Davis know he has to leave his home in the woods. Mandella says the city parks department is going to evict him, and the others who live in the woods, within a few weeks because of complaints from walkers and people who live nearby.

Davis likely only has a few weeks left before he’s forced to leave the place he has called home for the last three years. He hopes to get a hold of his stimulus check and use it to find a place to live.

He said he's hoping to find a new place to live that offers some solitude. Solitude he may have to cherish for just a few more weeks before he faces more uncertainty.




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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/10/21/homeless-man-who-has-lived-in-woods-for-three-years-now-faces-eviction/feed/ 0 Strained emergency shelters turning away those seeking refuge https://cincylink.com/2021/09/09/strained-emergency-shelters-turning-away-those-seeking-refuge/ https://cincylink.com/2021/09/09/strained-emergency-shelters-turning-away-those-seeking-refuge/#respond Thu, 09 Sep 2021 04:17:03 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=90609

It has been two weeks since the United States Supreme Court overturned the extension of a nationwide moratorium on rental evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since then, at least one area homeless shelter has reported an uptick in people seeking temporary housing during an already taxing time.

"It is devastating to watch people sit across the street from this building and not be able to access services because we don't have a bed available," said Kim Webb, Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky executive director.

RELATED: Are you a Kentucky tenant behind in rent or utilities? This fund could help

Webb said she and other emergency shelter staff had turned people away since opening its doors this summer ... an unusual step for the historically winter-only shelter.

"We're starting to see more people sleeping in cars in our parking lot, which is something we haven't seen in a long time," Webb said.

She attributed the recent rise in demand to the effects of COVID, which includes limiting the shelter's capacity due to the pandemic.

The shelter is currently alternating guests every other night to give more people access to its services.

According to Stacey Burge, Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Cincinnati president and CEO, the situation is similar for shelters across the river in Ohio.

"At any given time, we can take about half the people who are calling," Burge said. "And so that was a challenge that already existed before the pandemic."

RELATED: Hamilton County officials offer help to families facing eviction

She said it is too early to tell how lifting the eviction ban had impacted local shelters because shelters were already turning people away before the Supreme Court overturned the moratorium on evictions.

"I believe we will see more people, but people did not quit becoming homeless during the pandemic," Burge said.

She added that adding more beds or space in shelters is not the solution to the growing problems for those without homes.

The answer, Burge said, is more affordable housing.

Josh Spring, executive director for the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, agreed.

"Before the pandemic, we had an extreme lack of affordable housing," Spring said. "If so much of your income is already going to pay the rent or pay the mortgage, any loss can quickly mean that you just simply can't keep up."

A recent census survey found that one in four Kentucky respondents was behind on rent in August. About one in 10 Ohioans said the same.

Webb hopes the current housing crisis becomes a catalyst for change.

"It takes political will or a catastrophic event to really move the needle on homelessness in a community," Webb said. "We ended up with political will, and now we have a pandemic."

For renters at risk for eviction in Kentucky, they can find resources to help at teamkyhherf.ky.gov. In addition, Kentucky homeowners behind on their mortgages can find helpful tools at mailchi.mp/kyhousing.

In Hamilton County, people can find rental assistance at erap.hcjfs.org.




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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/09/09/strained-emergency-shelters-turning-away-those-seeking-refuge/feed/ 0 Southern Indiana hotel floor now being used as emergency homeless shelter https://cincylink.com/2021/09/02/southern-indiana-hotel-floor-now-being-used-as-emergency-homeless-shelter/ https://cincylink.com/2021/09/02/southern-indiana-hotel-floor-now-being-used-as-emergency-homeless-shelter/#respond Thu, 02 Sep 2021 05:29:20 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=29919

The Homeless Coalition of Southern Indiana has relocated its white flag emergency shelter from a Jeffersonville church to a New Albany hotel.Hampton Inn on West Spring Street has blocked off its entire fourth floor of 30 rooms for the coalition.A white flag is called when temperatures are expected to fall 35 degrees or below for at least four hours overnight.According to Leslea Townsend-Cronin, the executive director of the Homeless Coalition of Southern Indiana, the first white flag was called in November. She said the coalition quickly realized as more people came in, there was a bigger chance of spreading COVID-19."So we decided we needed to look into a hotel model to kind of mitigate the spread of COVID because we've got people coming to one space that might not necessarily have contact with each other on a regular day," Townsend-Cronin said. "We wanted to make sure we kept people healthy and safe."The first month at Hampton Inn is being supported by a $75,000 anonymous donation. The coalition has applied for another $400,000 from the state to help get through white flag season.Townsend-Cronin said that could last through April. On average, Townsend-Cronin said they see 15 people a night this time of year. Now they're already seeing closer to 30."What we're seeing is people who might not be comfortable in a congregate setting maybe out of fear, maybe they have a history of trauma, that just don't do that and would prefer to sleep out in the elements instead of being in a congregate situation. Now they're able to have their own private room," Townsend-Cronin said.Although doors must stay open and the halls are staffed with volunteers, Townsend-Cronin hopes people get a sense of what a home might feel like. "We're hopeful that might kind of give people the feeling of home and might be able to bridge whatever barriers might be there," Townsend-Cronin said. She hopes to connect them to services that will then become more stably housed.The white flag shelter at Hampton Inn is operating as it would somewhere else with curfews and in and out times.Due to the situation, they are only serving Southern Indiana residents.Adults over the age of 18 must show a state-issued I.D.Dinner, breakfast, and sack lunches are provided.Check-in is from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ​You do not need to make a reservation to be admitted. To learn more, visit the Facebook page or call the White Flag hotline (812-913-5278) at 3:30 p.m. each day to see if the shelter is open.For more information on White Flag, click here.

NEW ALBANY, Ind. —

The Homeless Coalition of Southern Indiana has relocated its white flag emergency shelter from a Jeffersonville church to a New Albany hotel.

Hampton Inn on West Spring Street has blocked off its entire fourth floor of 30 rooms for the coalition.

A white flag is called when temperatures are expected to fall 35 degrees or below for at least four hours overnight.

According to Leslea Townsend-Cronin, the executive director of the Homeless Coalition of Southern Indiana, the first white flag was called in November.

She said the coalition quickly realized as more people came in, there was a bigger chance of spreading COVID-19.

"So we decided we needed to look into a hotel model to kind of mitigate the spread of COVID because we've got people coming to one space that might not necessarily have contact with each other on a regular day," Townsend-Cronin said. "We wanted to make sure we kept people healthy and safe."

The first month at Hampton Inn is being supported by a $75,000 anonymous donation. The coalition has applied for another $400,000 from the state to help get through white flag season.

Townsend-Cronin said that could last through April.

On average, Townsend-Cronin said they see 15 people a night this time of year. Now they're already seeing closer to 30.

"What we're seeing is people who might not be comfortable in a congregate setting maybe out of fear, maybe they have a history of trauma, that just don't do that and would prefer to sleep out in the elements instead of being in a congregate situation. Now they're able to have their own private room," Townsend-Cronin said.

Although doors must stay open and the halls are staffed with volunteers, Townsend-Cronin hopes people get a sense of what a home might feel like.

"We're hopeful that might kind of give people the feeling of home and might be able to bridge whatever barriers might be there," Townsend-Cronin said.

She hopes to connect them to services that will then become more stably housed.

The white flag shelter at Hampton Inn is operating as it would somewhere else with curfews and in and out times.

Due to the situation, they are only serving Southern Indiana residents.

Adults over the age of 18 must show a state-issued I.D.

Dinner, breakfast, and sack lunches are provided.

Check-in is from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ​You do not need to make a reservation to be admitted.

To learn more, visit the Facebook page or call the White Flag hotline (812-913-5278) at 3:30 p.m. each day to see if the shelter is open.

For more information on White Flag, click here.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/09/02/southern-indiana-hotel-floor-now-being-used-as-emergency-homeless-shelter/feed/ 0 Vaccinating nation’s homeless for COVID-19 presents unique set of challenges https://cincylink.com/2021/08/11/vaccinating-nations-homeless-for-covid-19-presents-unique-set-of-challenges/ https://cincylink.com/2021/08/11/vaccinating-nations-homeless-for-covid-19-presents-unique-set-of-challenges/#respond Wed, 11 Aug 2021 04:37:59 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=33504

BOSTON, Mass. — On any given winter day on any other year in this country, being homeless is difficult enough. But in the middle of a pandemic, this has been a winter like none for those, with no place to call home.

And the effort to inoculate the more than 500,000 people in this country who are homeless is proving to be difficult.

Across the country, the burden of vaccinating the homeless is falling on nonprofits and shelters. Health officials say it's critical those who are homeless get the shot, because so many who live on the streets often survive in tightknit groups, giving the virus a perfect opportunity to spread.

"They are a tight community. Social distancing is not easy. They rely on each other. It’s critical we get as many as we can to get them vaccinated, so that begins to spread out as a network," said Larry Mayes with Catholic Charities of Boston.

On a recent Thursday morning, Mayes' group was working to distribute 30 doses of the vaccine they had received from the State of Massachusetts. It’s a seemingly small number, but a monumentally large step forward in ending the pandemic.

However, the process of vaccinating those who are homeless is not without challenges. Simply letting the homeless know about vaccination sites is difficult. Even more challenging is making sure they come back to get their second shot.

"The more people who get vaccinated from all walks of life, whether they’re homeless or not, that it’s the thing to do, it helps all of us as a whole," Mayes said.

On any given night in this country, more than a half million people experience homelessness. Those who are homeless are more susceptible to catching communicable diseases. Poorer access to health care in general also typically translates to fewer opportunities for vaccinations.

"We have to be proactive. It’s not waiting for them to come to us. We have to go to them, and you have to keep going out," Maye added.

This group and others across the country are relying on networks and nonprofits who have already built relationships with those who are homeless to encourage them to come in and get vaccinated.

"You have to look at it as a super charged campaign to encourage people to be vaccinated."




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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/08/11/vaccinating-nations-homeless-for-covid-19-presents-unique-set-of-challenges/feed/ 0 New tiny home village giving homeless veterans a new start https://cincylink.com/2021/08/04/new-tiny-home-village-giving-homeless-veterans-a-new-start/ https://cincylink.com/2021/08/04/new-tiny-home-village-giving-homeless-veterans-a-new-start/#respond Wed, 04 Aug 2021 04:28:39 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=77607

SHELBYVILLE, Ken. — The nationwide eviction moratorium expired at the end of July and leaders at the Veterans Administration are concerned it will lead to a large increase in homeless veterans. One Kentucky program is working to house veterans before the moratorium ends.

Nearly 40,000 veterans experienced homelessness on any given night in 2020, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Paul Elliott was one of them.

“Living out of your van, or whatever, you just get tired of it," Elliott said. “There is a saying when you go into service is they try to 'break the civilian out of you' and once that civilian is gone, you never go back.”

For Elliott, and many like him, homelessness wasn’t a choice, but it is a common outcome.

“Even when you sleep, you’re not sleeping. This is where PTSD comes in, where you’re always wired," Elliott said.

As Elliott experienced, nothing feels safe. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reports that 11 to 20 out of every 100 veterans who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan have PTSD in any given year.

Jeremy Harrell knows that feeling too. It’s why he started the Veterans Club in Shelbyville, Kentucky, to help people just like Elliott.

“It’s emotional for me because I’ve been in those same positions that everyone that we help have. I struggle with PTSD myself," Harrell said. “It’s not enough just to say, 'hey we want to get vets off the street.' But I remember how I felt when I felt like I had no one. And I don’t want that ever to be the case that we’re around.”

Through partnerships, the club recently started its Veterans Village, a community of tiny homes for veterans in need.

“The homes are foundational. What that does is it tears down any barriers you have about where am I going to sleep and what am I going to eat. So we get rid of that for you," Harrell said.

Elliott says his life has been a revolving door, until a few weeks ago

“I had a hard time readjusting to civilian world and at this time I still do. I find being here at the Veterans Club, I think being around other veterans and this community that’s going to be a brotherhood and a family, I think this is going to help me get established and have a home," Elliot said.

“Create that same bond that we had while we were in service and that’s not replicable in the civilian world really and so that’s a powerful tool that we have," Harrell said.

That’s just the beginning.

“Then we have case managers who kind of sit down with them, clinicians who sit down with them and kind talk about hey these are the challenges you have but what are your goals? We come up with a 3, 6, 9, 12-month plan.”

They pay extremely close attention to every detail.

“Then we start working on financial literacy, we start working on employment, we start working on supportive services, we start working on education, we do training, we just want to fill the toolbox," Harrell said.

For Elliott, it’s been years since he’s had a place to call his own. With those worries lifted, and a comfortable support system he’s working on his next step.

“I want to go back to work. I’ve injured myself. I’ve been dealing with injuries," Elliott said.

Harrell gets calls about veterans who could benefit from their services across the country. The reality is, there aren’t many programs like this out there.

“It’s hard work in a way that it could work for a year and then in a day it could all go south," Harrell said. “When you’re dealing with recovery of any kind whether it be mental health, whether it be substance abuse, you can put a lot of effort in and not produce any fruit.”

Delaware, Connecticut, and Virginia are the only states that have virtually eradicated veteran homelessness, according to the National Conference of State Legislators. But until that’s the case nationwide, Harrell and his team won’t stop helping veterans like Elliott.

“If it was up to me, I’d be in trouble again. I’d be on my own somewhere trying to deal with something on my own and you can’t do it on your own," Elliott said.

The hard work of helping yourself and others is what fuels the Veterans Club.

“Oftentimes, it’s looked at as a person may be lazy or they don’t want to work but oftentimes that’s not the case at all," Harrell said. “We can’t get so comfortable and so arrogant that we think for a minute that that can’t be us. And how would you want to be treated if it was you? And if we just start asking ourselves that throughout daily life in general I think our country would be in a lot better state than it is now.”




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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/08/04/new-tiny-home-village-giving-homeless-veterans-a-new-start/feed/ 0 Dog enjoys snow with skis, in need of forever home https://cincylink.com/2021/08/03/dog-enjoys-snow-with-skis-in-need-of-forever-home/ https://cincylink.com/2021/08/03/dog-enjoys-snow-with-skis-in-need-of-forever-home/#respond Tue, 03 Aug 2021 04:58:58 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=34941

VIDEO: Dog enjoys snow with skis, in need of forever home



with the white stuff still on the ground. US humans aren't the only ones enjoying winter sports. We put courage on the skis, and she seemed to really enjoy that. This nine month old mutt from Mississippi is named courage. This a disability has not stopped her one bit, and her name is fitting. Having survived a traumatic experience when she was only a few months old, a not a very nice man kicked her off a porch, severed her spine on DSHEA. She was taken into rescue. Becky Panacea had courage. Transported to Cranston from the south. She's been a joy. She's fun. She's challenging. She's very, very sweet. She's been fostering courage for about four months, and despite her back legs, being paralyzed and having to wear a diaper, she's still a playful pop. There's no problem with her getting around. Absolutely not. In fact, there seems to really be nothing else wrong at all. Besides her being incontinent, she's healthy, very healthy dog. The community recently rallied, raising about $2500 so Courage could have an M. R. I and extensive testing done. It was it was wonderful, and I thank them very much when she's not hitting the slopes in her front yard. She uses a wheelchair to get around. She's a little celebrity around here in in Rhode Island, but she would really love to head to her forever home. Venecia says there are some requirements, but she's hopeful someone will have the courage to make the dogs dream come true. She deserves this, and she deserves a great life.

VIDEO: Dog enjoys snow with skis, in need of forever home


A dog with a disability is enjoying a special setup.The pet, named Courage, uses a wheelchair but also can enjoy the snow with a pair of skis to support her."This disability has not stopped her one bit," said Becky Paniccia, who has been fostering the dog, WJAR-TV reports."Have you ever seen a dog have this much fun? This girl continues to inspire us with her spunk, bravery, spirit of love and forgiveness, and sense of adventure," Friends of Homeless Animals, Inc. in Rhode Island noted in a Friday post on Facebook. "She deserves a great home!"Tap the video above to find out more about her story.

A dog with a disability is enjoying a special setup.

The pet, named Courage, uses a wheelchair but also can enjoy the snow with a pair of skis to support her.

"This disability has not stopped her one bit," said Becky Paniccia, who has been fostering the dog, WJAR-TV reports.

"Have you ever seen a dog have this much fun? This girl continues to inspire us with her spunk, bravery, spirit of love and forgiveness, and sense of adventure," Friends of Homeless Animals, Inc. in Rhode Island noted in a Friday post on Facebook. "She deserves a great home!"

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Tap the video above to find out more about her story.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/08/03/dog-enjoys-snow-with-skis-in-need-of-forever-home/feed/ 0 You can now use Google Maps to help the homeless. Here’s how https://cincylink.com/2021/06/11/you-can-now-use-google-maps-to-help-the-homeless-heres-how/ https://cincylink.com/2021/06/11/you-can-now-use-google-maps-to-help-the-homeless-heres-how/#respond Fri, 11 Jun 2021 04:48:08 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=42880

Video above: 11 things you didn't know Google Maps could doAshley Sundquist has been taking simple steps towards advocating for those within her local homeless community by curating resources on an app you already probably use daily: Google Maps.While speaking with local members of the homeless community in her native Los Angeles, Sundquist realized she could use the platform to help direct those in need to centers where they could find food, shelter and free showers."I could immediately see how impossible it would be to navigate all of these websites, especially if someone is already struggling with mental health issues or they have limited access to technology," Sundquist told Mashable.As word of the curated maps that she was making for her local homeless community got out, people from around the world began bombarding Sundquist with emails inquiring how they could do the same. Sundquist even caught the attention of Google Maps representatives, who were amazed by her ingenuity to solve this far-reaching matter."There's just something about having a map that's always there, you can never lose it. All you need is the link," Sundquist tells Mashable.Interested in setting up a map for your community?Sundquist recommends that you get to know your homeless community, research shelters and food banks in your city, and check with all organizations about scheduling and transportation access.Once you have that info, you can follow this step-by-step guide to make a curated Google Maps list of your own to share across your social media platforms.

Video above: 11 things you didn't know Google Maps could do

Ashley Sundquist has been taking simple steps towards advocating for those within her local homeless community by curating resources on an app you already probably use daily: Google Maps.

While speaking with local members of the homeless community in her native Los Angeles, Sundquist realized she could use the platform to help direct those in need to centers where they could find food, shelter and free showers.

"I could immediately see how impossible it would be to navigate all of these websites, especially if someone is already struggling with mental health issues or they have limited access to technology," Sundquist told Mashable.

As word of the curated maps that she was making for her local homeless community got out, people from around the world began bombarding Sundquist with emails inquiring how they could do the same. Sundquist even caught the attention of Google Maps representatives, who were amazed by her ingenuity to solve this far-reaching matter.

"There's just something about having a map that's always there, you can never lose it. All you need is the link," Sundquist tells Mashable.

Interested in setting up a map for your community?

Sundquist recommends that you get to know your homeless community, research shelters and food banks in your city, and check with all organizations about scheduling and transportation access.

Once you have that info, you can follow this step-by-step guide to make a curated Google Maps list of your own to share across your social media platforms.


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]]> https://cincylink.com/2021/06/11/you-can-now-use-google-maps-to-help-the-homeless-heres-how/feed/ 0 Florida man goes from homeless to YouTube star with 350K subscribers https://cincylink.com/2021/05/27/florida-man-goes-from-homeless-to-youtube-star-with-350k-subscribers/ https://cincylink.com/2021/05/27/florida-man-goes-from-homeless-to-youtube-star-with-350k-subscribers/#respond Thu, 27 May 2021 04:29:08 +0000 https://cincylink.com/?p=53033

TAMPA, Fla. — As of Monday, more than 350,000 people have subscribed to the "Lionel B Show" on YouTube. The success has come after quite a climb for the star, who was living in his car with his teenage son just three years ago.

“There was one day I think we shared a Wawa cookie the entire day, just me and him, it was the hardest thing I ever went through,” Lionel Barnes said.

Barnes began posting videos documenting his daily struggles. What he lacked in money, he made up for in enthusiasm for the music industry. So he started his own show, talking about it.

“Let me do something I’ve never done, what do I mainly watch, I watch celebrity news, breaking news, trending news,” Barnes said.

He never imagined his opinion on a scuffle between rappers Jay-Z and Offsett would lead to thousands of fans. The views and comments started rolling in, which have now surpassed eight million.

“My heart was racing, it was unbelievable," Barnes said. "Every time I would refresh the screen it would go up another 10,000.”

Barnes soon started receiving checks from YouTube as "The Lionel B Show" became a hit.

“I heard of YouTubers making money, but I never dreamed this would happen to me,” Barnes said. “I knew at that point I could take care of my family.”

Barnes now has a roof over his head for himself and his two sons. His total views have grown to over 90 million. He said there is one fan particular fan that he could never thank enough.

“Unfortunately my mom did pass away in July 2020 of COVID-19,” Barnes said. “She was super proud of me because she saw me pick myself up and even gave me the nickname, 'Self-Made,' because I’m a self-made person. I didn’t ask anybody for anything. I just pulled myself up on my boot-straps and put it together.”

You can follow Lionel Barnes on most social media platforms @thelionelbshow.

This story was originally published by Robert Boyd on Scripps station WFTS in Tampa, Florida.




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