Miami Valley Housing Opportunities is piloting the Dayton Street Outreach Program to connect people with housing, employment and more.
Dayton’s Mayor and city commissioners joined Montgomery County commissioners at the historic courthouse on Tuesday to discuss their joint efforts, which they said will strengthen downtown Dayton and its neighborhoods by addressing homelessness.
This includes launching the Dayton Street Outreach Program, aimed at expanding existing resources.
Montgomery County Commission President Carolyn Rice said they started talking about this program in January when Mayor Shenise Turner-Sloss took office.
"This was an idea that came forth, there was concerns about security downtown and we were looking at different options and she really wanted us to go in this direction as being a really positive thing, not criminalizing homelessness, but really helping people to get to the services they need," she said.
According to Rice, 55% of households in crisis have reported a disabling condition while 42% reported mental health conditions.
She said that’s why they wanted to form this partnership to pilot the Dayton Street Outreach Program.
"In 2026, the Point-in-Time count identified 571 individuals in emergency shelters or experiencing unsheltered homelessness across this county," she said. "While that number has decreased, the need for housing, behavioral health, and support services truly remains, which is why continued investment is so important."
Rice said they hope this pilot program will continue to decrease the number of unhoused individuals in the region.
“They've worked with over 200 this year and helped them to get to other services," Rice said. "So, we may start out high and hopefully as we work that, those numbers will drop over time.”
Debbie Watts Robinson, CEO of Miami Valley Housing Opportunities, said this program expands upon over 25 years of street outreach in the community through their organization.
"This opportunity, in partnership with the city and with the county, gives us an opportunity to provide even more resources to the people that we serve," she said. "And to help them find opportunities so that they can experience what it feels like to have a home."
Program Services Director with Miami Valley Housing Opportunities Heather Wilson said this partnership allows them to provide intensive case management services to unhoused individuals.
“We are super excited to have two outreach workers in the downtown program who are going into abandoned homes, tending to the business complaints, those that are experiencing homelessness in the Oregon District in front of businesses," she said. "They are starting their days earlier than the rest of my team, so they are able to catch the people who are sleeping outside.”
The program currently employs two outreach workers in downtown Dayton with six overall personnel for Montgomery County.
The county is contributing $97,000 to the cost of employing these personnel as well as around $40,000 for new security cameras in the historic courthouse square.
"We're all on the same system, so very shortly, both the Dayton police and our sheriffs will have full integration and be able to see 24-7 everything happening on the square," Rice said.
In response to questions about privacy concerns with new cameras in the city, Turner-Sloss said they are working to protect the privacy and date of residents and constituents in the area.
"So that is something that is ongoing, but know that we're doing our due diligence and we take those matters and those concerns very seriously," she said.
As they continue to evaluate the success of the pilot program and heightened security in the courthouse square, Rice said they will work to serve those in need across their shared communities through data-informed work.
"Real progress does not happen by chance. It takes collaboration, commitment, and follow through," she said. "While there are different perceptions about the challenges downtown, we are focused on coordinated, data-informed work and the reality of what is already underway across the system."
