Ohio communities across the state have placed bans on sleeping outside, making unsheltered homelessness illegal. Newark, in Licking County, was one of the first towns to institute an encampment ban last fall.
At that time, the city promised to come up with a system to help connect those charged with the misdemeanor crime to permanent housing. City leaders said they wanted to develop a diversion program within Licking County’s court system that would offer pathways to housing, counseling and medical services.
In May, Licking County launched its Housing Opportunities Through Municipal Engagement, or HOME Court, to do exactly that.
“The things they asked me to do were things I needed to do, and things that were to my benefit,” said Bobby Kelley, the first person to go through the HOME Court program.
Allie Vugrincic, a reporter with WOSU member station, attended the first court hearing. She sat down with The Ohio Newsroom to share what she found.
This interview has been edited lightly for brevity and clarity.
On how the program works
“It’s called HOME Court, or Housing Opportunities Through Municipal Engagement. The program is for people who commit nonviolent crimes who are also experiencing homelessness. That generally includes trespassing under Newark’s camping ban. And the idea is that instead of being prosecuted, these people are put into a program to get the help they need. That includes temporary housing, but it also means they might be asked to do something like enroll in counseling.”
“A man named Bobby Kelley was the first to start the HOME Court program last month. He was arrested for taking shelter in a condemned building. The court asked him to find his birth certificate, get a driver’s license, and to get medical and counseling services. Kelley seemed really happy with the program. And of course, he had to check back in with the court after a few weeks.”
On how housing advocates are reacting
“There was definitely a lot of pushback from the community when Newark first enacted its camping ban. But on the first day of HOME Court, a lot of folks showed up to support the program. There were people there from the Licking County Health Department, St. Vincent De Paul, and some behavioral health organizations.”
“The Licking County Coalition for Housing has been really involved in the court. Its executive director, Trina Woods, wasn’t a fan of Newark’s camping ban – but she says HOME Court is a good step toward a solution and she’s cautiously optimistic that it’s going to work. She says the big problem with the court is that it’s still hard to get these people into housing quickly, simply because there’s not enough room at shelters and there’s not always money for, say, a hotel. Still, she thinks the program has a lot of strengths.”
On whether Ohio’s other cities with camping bans have developed similar programs
“The Newark Law Director’s Office isn’t aware of any other programs like this in Ohio, and neither am I. Assistant Law Director Melanie Timmerman says they modeled HOME Court off programs in Montgomery County, Maryland and Greenville, South Carolina. So, these programs aren’t common, but the one in Licking County isn’t the first or only one in the country.”
On how the ban works amid a shortage of affordable housing in Central Ohio
“The hope is that by the end of the program, these people will be in – or on the track to – permanent housing. But that’s not always going to be the case. You know, the person has to want to stay off the streets, and the housing also has to be available. Because until there’s enough affordable housing, homelessness will continue to be a problem.”
