In the cold

Below is the text from an editorial in today's (12/07/07) Akron Beacon Journal and available on Ohio.com.

The community has an obligation to protect the homeless

Published on Friday, Dec 07, 2007

When the weather turns cold, shelters and social service agencies usually expect a spike in the number of homeless people who seek relief from the harsh elements. It is predictable. Park benches and doorways offer no protection against sleet and snow.

Still, a higher-than-usual level of need for shelter and assistance in Summit County this fall has the shelters and service agencies concerned. They report a dramatic increase in the number of people seeking shelter. The 100-bed facility for men at the Haven of Rest Mission is now putting out mats at night to accommodate the overflow. Other shelters likely are straining to provide emergency help for those in need. Shelter operators and agency officials say the situation has not been as acute since the garage under the Ocasek Building in downtown Akron was pressed into temporary service early in the 1990s.

The long, dark nights of winter are here, and there's urgency to the plight of residents who have no place to go. The hope is that an improved capacity to share information will enable the service organizations more efficiently to direct the homeless to centers in the community where they can get the appropriate protection from the cold.

It is reassuring, meanwhile, that the United Way of Summit County and InfoLine have scheduled a public meeting today for the agencies on the frontlines to figure out the dimensions of the problem and the causes behind the upsurge.