Homelessness

Veterans Village in Monroe Township will include 19 housing units and a community center with on-site services from the VA.

New federal funding criteria for helping people without homes emphasizes mandatory treatment for addiction and mental illness over providing housing first. The head of a local service provider says that doesn't match the need his organization sees.

The organizations that provide services say they can cover about half the funding for five months; they want to borrow the other half from the city and Hamilton County.

The lot will be run by Project Connect, a homeless advocacy organization within the school district that provides students and their families with food, clothing, housing resources and now, a secure place to stay at night.

A new law that bans people from camping on public land was recently signed by Indiana Governor Mike Braun. The law also criminalizes the act.

In Jefferson County, community members are working to help unhoused people, after its homeless shelters closed three months ago.

A recent analysis found nearly half the people in homeless shelters in a nearby community had never lived on the street.

Council allocated $5.5 million to buy and renovate a building on West Fifth Street in Queensgate, across the street from the winter overnight shelter operated by Shelterhouse. However, the city says the current owners, Cincinnati Museum Center, won't be out in time so they're looking for other options.

The space will open March 1, 2026, with 12 spots located outside Taft Elementary School in Mt. Auburn.

Local service providers are concerned about a potential change to HUD rules that would cap spending on permanent housing initiatives.