Happy New Year — looking to 2024
Happy New Year to our community and a big thank you for your support. As we enter 2024, our public service announcements (PSAs) will appear on Local 12, Star 64 and the CW. They support our annual campaign and feature one of our co- founders — Dr. Bob Donovan. Please consider a contribution to the campaign by visiting our website.
Special ongoing thanks to Channel 12, to all of our donors and volunteers, and to the citizens of Hamilton County who have continued to support the Senior Service Tax Levy — of which we are a recipient. Thank you to the area hospitals and Managed Care Organizations who have supported the Center. We couldn’t do it without you.
What we do:
2023 was a big year for The Center for Respite Care. We celebrated 20 years of our service to some of our community’s most vulnerable — people experiencing homelessness who need a place to recover from illness. The Center is the only organization — in Southwestern Ohio — that cares for this sector of the population.
Clients are referred to the Center from local hospitals’ emergency departments, inpatient and outpatient services, other medical facilities, and clinics within the shelter system. All have few resources and arrive with meager possessions. When they arrive, they are often scared, in physical and emotional pain, and feel very alone. They are welcomed by our team and treated with respect and caring.
All of the clients’ plans are educational in nature, designed to teach them about their own acute and often chronic conditions or illness, as well as how to effectively treat and manage their physical and emotional well-being. This includes understanding symptoms, medications, and the importance of regular and consistent communication with their healthcare providers and community supportive services. The goal for our clients is to achieve personal health literacy.
The Center provides a location for our clients to regain health, locate stable housing, and tend to details of living independently. The Center works on all three components and often assists in locating employment , establishing social networks, and community support.
The state of people experiencing homelessness:
2023 continued as a challenging year for people experiencing homelessness.
According to the statewide publication The Center,
“Higher rents and a reduction in pandemic assistance caused a spike in homelessness in Ohio over the past year, according to a group advocating for more affordable housing around the state.
The Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio pointed to U.S. Department of House and Urban Development data that showed more than 11,000 Ohioans homeless on one January night in 2023. That number was a 6.9% increase from the previous year’s count.
Amy Riegel, executive director of the coalition, said rents began to rise during the pandemic and the average cost of a two-bedroom apartment in the state rose 18% from 2021 to 2023. The trajectory of inflation and lack of affordable housing will put pressure on our population.”
To the Center for Respite Care, this means that we will likely see an increase in people requiring services. The Center continues its mission as a premier organization serving people experiencing homelessness and in need of medical recovery. Our staff is on the ground, side-by-side with our clients. When people enter the Center, they become part of our family.
Thank you to all who have supported our mission.
