Troy Daily News 937 -339-'7514 | The 'hidden homeless'

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Sunday, March 18,2OO7

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The'hidden homeless'
By Dana Rasmussen Staff Writer Sunday, March 18,2OO7

They're not under overpasses, warming their f ingers over trash can fires or sleeping in boxes on street corners. homeless in Miami County are not as obvious as those in metropolitan areas - but they're here. According to director of the Family Abuse Shelter Barb Holman, there are 95 homeless people in the county. four of those people were listed as living with friends and family, four were living in cars or on the streets, while rest were people living in emergency shelters and transitional housing. The county's homeless population is referred to as rural homelessness or "the hidden homeless." Unlike the homeless in urban areas, the homeless in small communities - like Miami County - can go by "People either don't notice them or close their eyes to them," court-based domestic violence advocate Pam Rose the Family Abuse Shelter of Miami County said. In rural communities, homeless people often have places they can go before they find themselves on the streets. Due to the family-centered environment of rural communities, homeless people often move from family members family members and then on to friends until their support networks are completely exhausted and they become homeless, according to the Miami County Continuum of Care which is compiled by several agencies in the

The Miami County Continuum of Care reports rural areas typically have less resources and transportation than urban areas, making it difficult {or the homeless to get to available shelters or soup kitchens.
However, in Miami Couniy there are food pantries or soup kitchens in Troy, Tipp City, Piqua, Bradford, Bethel, Union and Monroe townships. Troy, the only city in the county to do so, provides shelters for the homeless.

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'The Troy community offers a lot of assistance for those who have had a need for extra assistance whether it's for housing, food, shelter or some other care," Troy Mayor Mike Beamish said. "Our community is really rich in

The Family Abuse Shelter, Buckeye House and St. Joseph's Boarding House provide housing for homeless men, women and children and offer assistance to help the destitute get back on their feet.
This year, homeless men also were given the oppoftunity to sleep in a nightly cold shelter in the basements of churches in Troy during the colder months. Though the shelters are no longer being o{fered, when the drop, Dick Steineman of St. Joseph's Boarding House welcomes any person who needs shelter.

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Troy Daily News 937-339-7514 lThe'hidden homeless'

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"What we're doing at the cold shelters is preventing freezing fatalities," Steineman said in regards to his cold "lf someone is on the street, we wanl to give them a place to stay so that no one freezes to death." Shelters in Troy differ from the warehouse style shelters in larger cities in that they don't provide the needy solely shelter - they strive to give the people who stay there a new life.
At the Family Abuse Shelter and Buckeye House, residents are required to actively look for a job, abstain from alcohol and drug use and save 80 percent of their paychecks so they can get their lives back together, according

Rose. lf residents do not follow the guidelines of the shelters, they are required to leave. "The idea is you give them a hand up and not a hand out," Beamish said. "We're trying to motivate individuals to become members in the community. There are times when people are down on their luck, and as Christians we an obligation to at least provide assistance in helping them get on their feet. We want to encourage people to themselves and that's the whole mission. (We're) not trying to make it easy for somebody just to live on other organizations. You want to have them feel good about themselves (for) being productive and you want to give the tools necessary to make that happen. I think we may do an injustice by giving a hand out and not asking them reach to a new standard of living. Now I understand there are hardship cases - and those are the people we do everything for to help out." Piqua Mayor Tom Hudson said while his city offers food pantries and clothing banks - namely at the Bethany
he thinks Piqua's educational options better serve the needy.

"l have mixed emotions aboul even having a soup kitchen in Piqua," Hudson said. "lt's a double-edged sword. supposed to serve people and take care of the needy, and I also understand the opposite end of the coin. In neighbors (of) the Bethany Center (some feel it is) potentially drawing indigent homeless from Dayton because it's nice place to come and get a free meal. That's not good for our community to have people who are not producers. understand we're supposed to take care of God's children, but I also understand that having 300 (homeless) moving to Piqua in a shelter ... is that going to benefit the community? The answer is no. I want people to be producers. I don't want this to be an easy town for welJare."
Hudson sard homeless people or those in danger of becoming homeless should take advantage of the free job training and GED testing at the Upper Valley Joint Vocational School that is available for those who qualify. "As far as the city of Piqua goes, probably (the) best thing we can do (for the homeless) is give them a job," said. 'We have allthese educationalfacilities in Piqua; we have opportunities galore, but it's sort of like the oldest saying in the book about the homeless guy sitting in the library to keep warm with the world's knowledge all him and he doesn't use it. I think there are a lot of people in this country that choose to be homeless and I know are some that have fallen on hard times and we need to help them." Rural homelessness, like urban homelessness, happens for a variety of reasons, but namely because of mental illness and substance abuse problems. Through food pantries, soup kitchen, clothing banks, free and reducedhealth care and counseling, Miami County offers its homeless population and the poverty stricken with the needed to better their lives.

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Troy Daily News 937-339-7514

A place to call home

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Monday, March 19,2OO7

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A place to call home

By Dana Rasmussen
Staff Writer

Monday, March 19,2007

The Buckeye House in Troy provides homeless men with a place to call home.
Shelter advocate Jeff Steele said while each resident has his own story as to how he ended up in a shelter, many there because of financial problems, mental health or substance abuse issues, fights with wives or girlfriends, and some are just passing through Troy on their way to someplace else.

'l f ind we get guys that they'll have a fight with their wife or girlfriend and say they don't own their house or so they have nowhere to go and they'll end up calling me," Steele said. "A lot of times that's how it works'"
Located in a house on North County Road 25-A, the shelter can accommodate 12 men, though more are allowed during times of bad weather or other circumstances. However, on most nights, each resident has a bed in the basement or a spot on a couch when the house is at capacity' 'They're usually only on the couch if they're just passing through the county and not going to stay but a night or Steele said.

job' Like the Franklin House in Troy for women and children, residents at the Buckeye House are required to get a to and adhere put 80 percent of their income into savings, refrain from using drugs or alcohol, go to counseling house curfew. They're not typically resistant to the rules," court- based domestic violence advocate Pam Rose of the Franklin House said. "if they are resistant, they ll leave, but most of the time they wouldn't even be there if they weren't on their luck. When they call us, it's usually their last chance."
Steele said the first days {or any resident at the shelter involve getting the resident connected with social services where they can apply for government assistance. The residents also are given assistance so they can create a resume and search for a job.

"lt's hard for them at first to ask for help, but we let them know we're not here to judge you; we want you to
self sufficient," Rose said. Residents at the shelter must look for work every day until they find a job and if they fail to do so, they are asked leave. Because the shelter is out of town, the residents are allowed to use bikes donated by the Troy Police Department to ride into town to look for work or they can use the Miami County Transit Servtce for low-cost transportation th roughout the county.

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Troy Daily News 937-339-1514

A place to call home

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Steele said residents are allowed to stay at the shelter for up to three months before they are required to leave. "Usually what they do is get a job and when they get money into their savings, which is usually $800 to $1,000, {igure that's enough for them to go out and rent an apafiment and get on their feet," Steele said. Of the four years Steele has been at the Buckeye House he said he has not had one incidence of violence occur any of the residents. He said he also has never had to call the police, although last year two residents stole the Thanksgiving Day dinner fund from El Sombrero and were charged with theft. "lt's a shame a couple of bad eggs had to go over and rob the place," Steele not the truth. We're just here to help people get back on their feet."

said. That makes us look bad

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Troy Daily News 931-339-7514lAnother shor at a furure

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Monday, March 19,2007 By Dana Rasmussen
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Another shot at a future

Monday, March 19,2007

Dick Steineman's got a new project in the works. Steineman, founder of St. Joseph's Boarding House and the St. Patrick Soup Kitchen, now offers the area's homeless a chance to make a little money through St. Joe's Workshop. "St. Joe's workshop offers a group of low-income men with many skills who are willing to provide services and labor at a reasonable price," Steineman said. Some Troy residents already have gotten some work done by men from the workshop. Steineman said a the boarding house had a couple of men tear up some old carpet and lay new floors. The job took two days, and men made $70 each. "We get guys who come in here with no money and no job, and say someone calls us from across town and says they'd like their garage painted; then these guys can go out and earn some money," Steineman said. "l hope this instill a work ethic in them and keep them busy and make them feel productive." Steineman said residents still are required to be looking for permanent employment while living at St. Joseph's cannot depend solely on the odd jobs given to them through the workshop as their primary source of income. "When guys work and they complete a job they feel successful and they feel better," Steineman said. "Some o{ guys come in and they have no money and no self-esteem. Some don't even have an lD - so they're kind of in sometimes with just the clothes on their back. lf they can make $40 doing a bunch of yard wok then they can some money to get an lD and piece their lives back together because nobody is going to hire you without an lD." Anyone interested in having men from St. Joseph's come out to do yard work, painting or other tasks can call 3355895. Steineman said quotes will be given for each project before potential customers commit to having a job "These guys aren't terrible homeless, rundown people," Steineman said. "They can be producers, people just point them in the right direction."

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r/9/08

Troy Daily News 937-339-7514 | Refuge from the storrn

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Tuesday, March 20,2007

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Refuge from the storm

By Dana Rasmussen
Staff Writer

Tuesday, March 20,2OO7

The Family Abuse Shelter of Miami County, also known as the Franklin House, has been providing shelter to the '1979. area's battered and homeless women since
Abused and homeless women find refuge at the shelter knowing their identities are kept confidential. Court-based domestic violence advocate Pam Rose said the shelter is staffed 24 hours a day. lf a situation arises where a resident is threatened, the building goes into lockdown until the problem is under control. "The police station is only a block away, so if someone does call or show up, the police are here immediately,"
said.

With their safety assured, women at the shelter can focus on getting their lives back together, and the staff at the Franklin House provides them with the necessary skills to do so. Once at the shelter, all residents are given a bed, hygiene products, clothes

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if needed - and food.

Every woman is assigned to one of three bedrooms with four sets of bunk beds. One room is for women with childien, one is for women with older children and the other is for women without children. There also is a room disabled women. ln addition to bedrooms, the house offers women a recreation room where they can watch TV or movies, laundry room, full kitchen and bathrooms. Residents have to keep the shelter clean - as if it were their own home.

All residents are required to adhere to the house rules. The prtmary rules of the shelter are:
n No resident is allowed to use drugs or alcohol; n They must secure a job it they are not working;

n lf a resident is not connected with government-{unded assistance, those connections are made; n Residents are expected to do household chores and adhere to the shelter's mandatory curfew.
"We have really strong rules and regulations," Rose said.

To prevent women from having to come back to the shelter once they leave, residents are required to give the

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Refuge from the storrn

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80 percent of their income to provide themselves with a savings for when they are ready to move out. Additional
budgeting classes are offered as well. All women at the shelter also are required to attend group counseling. Individual-based counseling is offered if requested. "lt can be embarrassing (to be in a shelter)," Rose said. Nobody wants to think they re so down on their luck ended uo in a shelter." Though the shelter does not allow using addicts or alcoholics to live there, women can be referred to the Miami County Mental Health Center for detoxification. Women living in the shelter who are recovering addlcts or are required to attend Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

"lt's about getting where you need to be with small steps," Rose said.
Women of all ages live at the Franklin House - from teens to grandmothers. Rose said though every woman is in shelter for one reason or another, one benefit of being together is that women are able to confide in each other. "The women bond," Rose said. "l'd say a lot of them probably end up with a lot of good friends for life."

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Troy Daily News 937-339-1514

Troy man knows of the srrains

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Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Troy man knows of the strains

By Dana Rasmussen
Staff Writer

Wednesday, March 21,

2OO7

lf Josh Marrs had his way, he'd be dead right now.

It was the end oJ December 2006 when the 21-year-old, alone in a hotel room, said he took a handfulof pills and hoped he'd never wake up again.

'l felt like I wanted to end it, but for some reason l'm still here," he said.
The failed suicide attempt landed Marrs in the hospital until he was transferred to the inpatient mental health unit adults at Detmer where he stayed for two weeks. But life just kept getting worse, according to Marrs. One thing he said scared him the most was the fact that he knew once he got out of the hospital, he had nowhere
go.

"l didn't know what would happen," he said. "l flipped out." Marrs said he had been living with his girlfriend, but had lost the apartment. He said he was terrified he would end in a Dayton homeless shelter until a caseworker at Detmer connected him with the founder of St. Joseph House and St. Patrick Soup Kitchen Dick Steineman. Steineman arranged for Marrs to stay at the Buckeye House once he got out of Detmer, and that's what he did.

'lt was a little scary," he said. "l was having bad anxiety and everyone sleeping in the same room is scary. I didn't
know nobody, and I was afraid someone was going to do something to harm me. I went three days without Marrs then left the Buckeye House and went to the Darke County Mental Health Center homeless respite three weeks.

'They help you get your life straightened out," he said.

While at Greenville hospital, Marrs said the doctors were able to regulate the medication he takes for his mental illness. Marrs said he has been diagnosed several times for various mental illnesses, but no doctor has been able pinpoint what he has. Marrs calls his mental illness depression, though he said he experiences intense anxiety in addition to auditory hallucinations. Marrs said he has been in a room with no more than three people, but to him it sounds like he is in a room filled with several people. "l cry all night long sometimes," he said. "l have thoughts, and hear voices in my head telling me to do stuff. lt's scary stuff ... My meds help some, but it's a matter of if I remember to take them. l've come so far out now that

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Troy Daily News 931-339-1514 | Troy man knows of the strains

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sometimes I get sidetracked." Once Marrs left the Greenville hospital, he said he felt better - thanks to his medication, but his life was far from back on track. Because he had tried to kill himself - a misdemeanor offense - he had to go to court and pay a fine. "lt's so messed up ... but it's the government"' he said laughing. Marrs didn't go back to living at the Buckeye House after leaving the hospital, instead, he stayed with f riends and spent most of his nights in Troy's cold shelters. During the day he looked for work and while he does have a diploma that he earned by taking alternative classes, has yet to find a job because of his second grade reading level and poor math skills. Marrs said he can't even fast food restaurants because he can't read the monitors or keep up with the fast pace. He said he took job placement tests and the results were being sent to Riverside of Miami County so he could potentially find employment. Marrs said he also is in the process of obtaining government support through Job and Family of Miami County. "lt gets scary," Marrs said. "l mean you don't know what will happen the next day." Marrs said he currently works with youth when he goes to church and he said he hopes someday to have a job lets him helo children. "Working with teens and younger children at churches makes me feel good about myself," he said. "l don't want to see anyone go through what l'm going through."

When Marrs is not out looking for a job, he said he goes to Safe Haven in Piqua where he can relax with people
own age. Occasionally he will go to his parents' house in Piqua, but he said they have their own hardships to deal with so choose not to stay with them. My parents know where I m at," he said. "l saw them (recently) for the first time in over a month and a half. lt was kind of scary. I didn t know how they would react to me, but they were pretty excited to see me." Marrs also spends time at St. Joseph's Boarding House in Troy where he can come inside from the streets and But some days, Marrs' mental illness gets the better of him and he is unable to do anything. "lt gets hard," he said. "l try to take things day by day, hour by hour. But sometimes I sit and think or cry or find a corner somewhere and try and hide from it all." Marrs said his ultimate goal is to become mentally and financially stable so he can find a place to live and start his
over.

"l can only take it one step at a time or else l'll end up falling in a whole deep depression - and that hurts," Marrs "l work hard and try my hardest to get what I do got.

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Troy Daily News 937-339-1514 lFacing an uphill battle

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Wednesday, March 21, 2007

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Facing an uphill battle

By Dana Rasmussen
Staff Writer

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Mental illness and homelessness often go hand in hand. Though not all homeless people are mentally ill, the percentage of those who are is high. According to the Coalition of Homelessness, 20-25 percent ol the homeless nationwide suffer from a severe and persistent mental disorder. "lt's a very treatable disease, but it's not curable," Ann Moyer, director of community support services the Miami County Mental Health Center said. Miami County Menlal Health Center Addiction Services Director Mark Ruffin said two of the most significant disorders among the homeless are schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Moyer sard schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder that causes people to be out of touch with reality. often hear voices or have disordered thinking that can involve paranoia or false beliefs about reality. Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder that includes depression and periods of mania. Moyer said people with bipolar disorder have extreme mood swings that affect their behavior though they can have normal moods between bouts mania and depression. 'These people can be treated and stabilized and be able to function in the community," Moyer said. "People with schizophrenia have a much harder success rate in dealing with it," Ruffin said. "Bipolar people can OK with medication, but some get into states where they don't want to take their medication. Then their family and friends don't know how to deal with it and they might become homeless because they burn bridges. That's pretty common - their families pull away from them a lot of times and it's very difficult." Ruffin said an additional problem the mentally ill face is many of them try to self-medicate by abusing drugs or alcohol. "For some people, it starts out as self-medication for mental illness, and then they become addicted to alcohol or drugs," Ruffin said. "Then the substance abuse becomes a part ol the problem and not the solution." According to a2OO2 nationalsurvey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, percent of all people with a serious mental illness also had a drug or alcohol-abuse issue.
30.'1

'l don t want to make

broad generalization, but sometimes homeless do have both disorders," Ruffin said. "lt's

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Troy Daily News 937-339-7514 lFacing an uphill battle

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Treating mentally ill people - regardless of whether they are homeless - can be diff icult, according to Ruffin. Not do people with mental disorders need to be treated for the disorder, they also need to receive treatment and counseling for their addictions. Recently, health professionals have decided it is no longer necessary to treat a person's addictions before treating a mental illness because without treating the mental illness an addict will not able to stay focused to get off drugs or alcohol, Ruffin said. People who are dealing with mental illness and substance abuse are placed on psychotropic medication (when needed) and put into counseling for both problems. "lt's very difficult," Ruffin. "ln sorts, these people are kind of dealing with two whammies. That population is hard engage in treatment because they can't just deal with addiction and not their mental-health issue." Ruffin said treatment is important for any person dealing with a mental illness and substance abuse issue the risk of suicide among those people. "lf you look at the statistics, one of the key factors in looking at people that have committed suicide is that drug or alcohol use was involved, Ruffin said. "The number of people that have actually committed suicide or attempted have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol."

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Troy Daily News 937-339-7514 lThe fight vs. drugs, alcohol

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Thursday, March 22, 2007 By Dana Rasmussen
Staff Writer

Daill'- lirfrt s Online Edition

The fight vs. drugs, alcohol

Thursday, March 22,

2OO7

Sometimes it,s just another bottle of beer, line oJ coke or heroin-filled syringe that lands an addict on the street.

The National Coalition for the Homeless states there is no "magic number" of homeless people with addictions there are "consistently high rates" of addiction among the homeless.
"truly" Miami County Recovery Council Associate Director Thom Grim said while the MCRC does not treat many and addicts recovering provide for services homeless people - meaning those who sleep on the streets they do alcoholics that live in transitional housing or shelters. going to ',lt,s kind of like Maslow's hierarchy of needs," Grim said. "lf you're truly homeless, you're probably not to counseling."
a Grim said one of the reasons substance abuse leads to homelessness in Miami County is because it affects become and addicts time over person,s ability to hold down a job and make money. The problem compounds io puy their bills. Grim said when that happens, addicts can find themselves dependent upon family or friends for shelter. When an addict loses his or her support system, they end up on the streets. ,,Addicts burn a lot of bridges," Grim said. "l think that's what we have a lot of in this community."

Buckeye Once an addict becomes homeless, he or she has the option of staying at the Franklin House or the However, those shelters require residents to be sober or else they are evicted.

job, have income (The requirements) allow people time to get clean and stay clean," Grim said. "They can get a coming in, and then they can go out into independent standing.
the The homeless also can be eligible for transitional housing owned by the MCRC if they stay clean' Grim said for nine housing in the to live them allows and residents among sobriety requires MCRC's transitional housing months. get sober. There are But before a homeless addict can get into the housing options in the county, they have to Mental Health County the Miami at outpatient agencies that treat addicts in the county, the MCRC and Choices Center. drug and Director of addiction services for the Miami County Mental Health Center Michael Ruffin who leads the times a four lt meets addicts. for treatment outpatient an intensive offers the center programming said alcohol addictions with severe alcoholics and is for addicts program period The five weeks. of for a intervals for two hour

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Troy Daily News 937-339-7514 lThe fight vs. drugs, alcohol

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are not in inpatient rehab facilities. "Results vary person to person," Ruffin said. "lf they're coming into the intensive outpatient program and if they out and come through and make the committment to be here they have a good success rate." Ruffin said those who are heavily addicted to alcohol, cocaine and heroin can benefit from the intensive outpatient treatment option, though medical detox often is necessary beforehand. Grim said both services operate on sliding fees to accommodate the patients' ability to pay. However, outpatient services for addicts are not as effective as inpatient rehabilitation services. "They go right back into the environment where they know where they can get what they want," he said. Grim said that is especially true for addicts who use opiates, such as heroin or crack cocaine, because they have "much harder" time getting off their drug of choice without inpatient care - because of the physical addiction to the drugs. "The propensity for active addiction is so strong that it is hard for them to get clean and stay clean," Grim said. While there is no inpatient rehab facility in the county, addicts do have the option of being admitted to the hospital three days for a medical detoxification. The problem with that, Grim said, is that while medically the addicts are healthy enough to return home, they do not feel healthy. Grim said opiate addicts feelthe effects of the withdrawal long after detox, making the chances of them using again greater. "The farther they are into it, the harder it is to stay clean," he said. "Addicts have to get tired of being sick and problems. They have to finally want to respond to help to get better."

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U9/08

Troy Daily News 937 -339-7514 | Church helped homeless addict

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Thursday, March 22,
2OO7

Ilaily }ictt-s Online Edition

Church helped homeless addict

By Dana Rasmussen
Staff Writer

Thursday, March 22,

2OO7

An addict, fresh out of prison, stood alone in a parking lot staring at a church. He was jobless, homeless, and the people who would still talk to him after all the years he spent as a criminal were other criminals and drug addicts.

With no one to turn to and a self-made vow never to go back to the way he was, Mike walked into the Troy the Brethren one day two years ago and asked for help.
"l chose to be homeless," Mike said. 'l never went home. I left it all behind, my tools, clothes. I never went back. I walked away from the life I was living. I had to trust God to take care of me, and I had no idea how He was going be able to do that since I had no money, no job and no food. But it's the strangest thing; I never slept outside, called a hooker or a dope boy. I knew with drugs and alcohol, I had destroyed my life and I never wanted to do it again."
.

Before Mike became a homeless addict, he was just like any other kid in a suburban neighborhood - or so it

'My parents were very conservative, very strict disciplinarians," he said. "l was never without anything. The house lived in, while from the outside, it appeared to be like everyone else's house, inside it was a frightening and dangerous place to be, and there was no changing that."
Mike said in his early teens he began thinking about suicrde to escape the abuse he suffered at the hands of his parents, but changed his mind when he found drugs and alcohol. "lt didn't stop me from excelling at school, and I didn't get in trouble," Mike said. "l came to believe it was my at that point because the real problem couldn't be changed." Mike finished high school, then had a major falling out with his parents regardrng what he should study in college he joined the Navy. Four years later, he was working at a Fortune 500 company and still drinking and using drugs. AJter a while, Mike said he got frustrated with his job and started working at a smaller company, but that, too, was what he was looking for.

'l just couldn't seem to find my place," he said.

Mike decided to become self-employed and started his own company, working as a tradesman. During that time, drinking and drug use escalated.

'l realized I was completelv out of control," he said.

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Troy Daily News 93'7-339-7514 | Church helped homeless addict

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At that time, Mike stopped using. He started going to 12-step meetings and stayed clean and sober for more than years. But he said he was in a lot o{ pain and haunted by memories so much so that it was difficult for him to Mike said he started seeing a therapist so he could "find out what normal looked like."

'Then I starled to think that total abstinence was taking it too far," he said. "l had learned a lot and changed a lot thought the people (in recovery) were just spinning their wheels. I stopped going to meetings ... and made the decision to have a drink.
"The sky didn't fall in. I believed this time would be different. I wasn't using it to medicate my own pain. I did things socially and recreational ly. "

Then Mike met a woman, his business took off and he was riding high for almost six years. 'lt looked like there was no end in sight," he said.
But the end was near. Mike ended the relationship with the woman he'd been seeing, he started drinking heavier

using drugs and "stayed wasted Jor the next three or four years." When his "business went in the toilet," he said he couldn't afford his house and he started staying with friends. He said he didn't consider himself homeless because he always had a place to stay. Things consistently got worse Jor Mike. His belongings that were being kept in storage were auctioned off when couldn't pay his bill. "You don't make good decisions when you're loaded allthe time," he said. Mike rubbed his chin and shook his head when he said he was using a minimum of $700 a week worth of drugs. Because he wasn'l working, he stole, cheated and helped other addicts commit crimes to get drugs.

'My life devolved," he said.

He pushed his family away and all the people close to him who wanted to see him get clean. He said he his addiction to them and was angry when they told him how much he was hurting them. Though he told himself wasn't hurting his family and friends by his actions, he said he would have moments of clarity in his otherwise induced haze where he would feel "incredible amounts of guilt and pain."

'l spiraled down until I lived in a subculture of people that were hardcore drug users," Mike said. "lt was horrible. There's no way to stay high so as soon as you're not you're in unbearable pain, and pafi of you knows you be in that pain if you weren't using. I could remember being happy and healthy and having someone hold me at Part oJ me could remember living a normal life. "lt's a very lonely existence. But make no mistake about it, I chose it. Society didn't screw me over. I made bad choices followed by even worse choices. I was completely self-centered in what I was doing."
Eventually, Mike began getting in trouble with the police for minor offenses - never for his drug use. He said he it would take just one time for him to be caught with the amount of drugs he always had, and he'd be behind bars years. But he said that fear was worth it if he could just get high one more time. So Mike kept getting high. He had been kicked out of his friends' places by that time and was sleeping in vacant houses - even in the dead of winter.

"l remember thinking, 'God, I'm an idiot!" he said. Then life got a little better for Mike, or so he thought.
He found himself living in an upper-middle class neighborhood in a house full of addicts. Instead of working a 9-to-5 for a living, he was paid in drugs and cash to take other addicts and criminals out to score more drugs or commit crimes.

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Troy Daily News 937-339-7514 lChurch helped homeless addicr

"l sunk even lower,' Mike said.

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Then came a day when Mike woke up and wanted out of the life he was living. He said he knew he didn't have the strength to get clean on his own and he said he wished Jor the day when he would get arrested and locked up in so he could get clean.
'l just thought, 'l gotta get back, but how do I get back when l'm so far gone?"' he said.

All the bridges he had were burned, and he couldn't turn to his family or any of the people he had misled or used the years. All he could do was wait to get arrested. "l said, The next time I get arrested I'm not going to pick up a drink, hit the pipe or take a pill,"' he said. Though Mike wanted to get arrested, he also wanted to continue to get high. There were warrants out for his for minor offenses such as driving without a license, and the police were looking for him, but he kept out of sight. Then the day he was waiting for happened - he got arrested.
It was a summer day in 2005 and Mike was outside. His roommate was outside and started a fight with him, and police saw the incident. They arrested Mike.

"They threw me in the car, and I was so relieved and so tired, ljust fell asleep,'' he said. Mike said he was hoping he would be locked up for a couple of six-month sentences for his misdemeanors, but wasn't what he got. He said because his record was, for the most part, clean, the judge went easy on him and sentenced him to 30 days in jail. "l figured since I wasn't dead or in the pen, l'd do whatever it took (to get clean)," Mike said. "l was sick and in with drug dealers and guys with domestic violence charges, and they were all laughing at me. None of them l'd stay clean." Thirty days later, Mike was out on the streets with nothing on his back but the shirt he'd bloodied in the fight a earlier, a pair of shorts, tennis shoes and $10.50. The only people he had any contact with were people he call and he said he was desperately trying to ignore the voice in his head that said he "deserved to catch abuzz," spending the last month in jail. He said he had one option: To remember the number of a guy he had known in the 12-step program all those years ago and ask for help. And he remembered it. Mike called the man he had known and 20 minutes later he was eating breakJast on the man's porch. Though the man wouldn't let Mike stay with him, he hooked him up with a job in Troy. The only thing Mike had to to get the job was make it through the weekend without getting high - and he made it. He came to Troy and started working. He stayed in a hotel during the week and then went back to the city he'd living in over the weekend. When he came back to work the next Monday, he was out of a job. He said the man had hired him called hrm and told him he didn't like him and didn't want him to be a part of the job. "l was all by myself and it was the perfect excuse to get loaded," Mike said. But he didn't. Instead, he asked for help. A woman at the Church of the Brethren referred him to Partners in Hope, an agency that offers emergency assistance for rent, utilities, food and other services. He told the people at Partners in Hope he couldn't go home, they told him they could put him in a shelter. At first Mike balked at the idea of going to a shelter. He said he pictured a warehouse lined with cots, but soon that the shelters in Troy were different. The employees of Partners in Hope sent Mike to the Family Abuse Shelter and told him to locate Jeff Steele. So started walkino.

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"As I walked down Main Street, I felt a sense of hope," he said. "Hope was stafiing to trickle into my life. I thought was a nice looking little town, and something came over me. A voice in my head said' 'You should stay here and over."' Mike made it to the Family Abuse Shelter where he ran into Jeff Steele who was walking to his truck at the time. told a woman who worked at the shelter that he needed a place to stav and she called out to Steele. Steele told to get in his car. Steele took Mike to the Buckeye House. He told him about the rules and regulations of the shelter and Mike them. Then just like that, Mike had a place to stay. "lt was surreal," Mike said. "Here I was, down so low -- and he talked to me ltke I had some value." Mike managed to land a job within a week and a better job later on. He got back on his feet and moved out of the Buckeye House. From there he became connected with transitional housing offered by the county and now is to get a place of his own. Mike has been clean and sober for 19 months. He's rebuilding the relationships with his family and friends and starting new relationships here. He goes to meetings to help him fight of{ his addictions.

"l no longer do anything because it makes me feel good,' Mike said. "l try to do the right thing every minute of day, and I can honestly say I feel good. By not trying to feel good, I do. As soon as I start trying to feel good, l'm screwed."

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Troy Daily News 937 -339-7 514 | Homeless for three generations

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Friday, March 23,2007
By Dana Rasmussen Staff Writer

6.,I}aity l.;dus Online Edition

Homeless for three generations

Friday, March 23,2007

Seeing her daughter homeless is killing Rhonda Taylor. Rhonda lives in the Franklin House with her 19-year-old daughter, Lamarra, and 4-month-old granddaughter Des-Meryah. The three of them have lived there for the past three weeks after they were kicked out of a relative's house. "lt was midnight on a Sunday when she kicked us or.rt," Rhonda said. "l called the police, and they gave us a ride
here." But this isn't the first time Rhonda and Lamarra have been homeless.

Lamarra said when she was growing up, she spent time with her mother and three siblings in a homeless shelter
Lima.

"l didn't care for that very well," Lamarra said. Rhonda said they lived in the shelter because her husband was in jail and she had started using crack cocaine - something she kept secret from her children.

"l didn't find out (she was using cocaine) until I was '16," Lamarra said. "Then my dad told me. I didn't even know
it was."

Lamarra said she used to miss her mother as a child when she would disappear for months at a time. Lamarra she didn't know then that her mom was out on crack binges while she was gone.
I felt guilty and

ashamed," Rhonda said. "l thought, 'this isn't me, I wasn't raised like this."

Rhonda didn't get off crack until she was put in prison in April 2006. At that time, Lamarra - then pregnant and a high school senior - was serving six months in the Miami County Jail using marijuana while on probation for truancy. Once mother and daughter were out of jail, they lived with friends and family members until they were put out on own three weeks ago. Now that they are at the Franklin House, both women are trying to piece their lives back together. Rhonda said she got her general equilvilancy diploma while in prison, she's in counseling, and now she's looking

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Troy Daily News 937 -339-7514 | Homeless for three generations

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Lamarra got a job and is trying to get custody of her 2-year-old daughter, who is living with her paternal because Lamarra did not have stable housing. She said she hopes to get a place of her own and has sent rental applications out to Garden Manor and Staunton Commons.

Though both women are getting back on their feet, they said they still consider themselves to be homeless.
"lt's overwhelming, and l'm scared," Rhonda said. "But as hard as it is to be here, it's just another step in life to and it just makes you stronger."

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Troy Daily News 93'7-339-7514 lHomeless children an ongoing problem

Page 1 of

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4'Friday, March 23,2007 By Dana Rasmussen
Staff Writer

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Homeless children an ongoing problem

Friday, March 23,2007

Cheap hotels and the backseats of cars are just a couple of places some kids call home. According to the 2006 homeless count done by the Miami County Continuum of Care, there were 16 homeless children in the county at the time of the count. Director of primary education for Troy City Schools Jill Wilson, who acts as Miami County's liaison for homeless children, said it is difficult to know how many children actually are homeless because parents try to prevent from knowing. "Parents are afraid to tell because they don't want children's services to take them away," Kyle Elementary School Principal Kimbe Lange said.

4t52.21 percent, Kyle has the highest rate in the district of children living in poverty. Poverly rates for schools are based on the amount of children who qualify for free and reduced-price lunches, according to Wilson.
Lange said in the six years she has been principal at Kyle, she has come across students who have been living in cars with their parents, staying in hotels for extended periods of time, living with relatives or friends or living alone while their Darents are incarcerated. "Homelessness happens in this city," Lange said. Though homeless children do exist in Troy and throughout the county, they still have the same rights as other children. As the district's liaison, Wilson's job is to make sure those rights are protected.

"l make sure that the children of homeless parents receive free and appropriate education just as the other the district," she said.
Since 200'1, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act has been in effect for every school district the country. The act states that if a child lives in a shelter, motel, vehicle, campground, on the street, abandoned building, trailer or other inadequate accommodation or with friends and relatives due to the inability to find or adequate housing, that child is homeless. Any child who fits into the specifics outlined by the act is guaranteed the right to go to school or continue on his or same school no matter what the child's living conditions may be. Homeless children also are provided with transportation to school if needed and the right to participate in all school programs.

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n Contact the school district's local liaison for homeless education (see phone number below) for help in enrolling your child in a new school or arranging for your child to continue in his or her former school. (Or someone at a shelter, socialservices office, or the school can direct you to the person you need to contact).

n Contact the school and provide any information you think will assist the teachers in helping your child adjust to circumstances.
n Ask the local liaison for homeless education, the shelter provider, or a social worker for assistance with clothing supplies, if needed.

Localarea contacts: Jill Wilson - 332-6002

State Coordinator: Tom Danis - 614-466-4161

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