Operation HOMES provides shelter during the pandemic

A $6,438 grant was used to house homeless guests in a motel, since the churches the organization usually partners with were unable to host them during the pandemic. The churches still provided meals, and Operation HOMES continued to provide case management. Affordable housing is difficult to find in Medina County, but several guests did find housing, sometimes in another county. In 2021, the cost to house homeless individuals in local motels was $47,000. This grant helped with the enormous expense of providing temporary shelter and services to homeless guests.

Outcomes

Unfortunately, there is a waiting list of homeless Medina County residents hoping to be part of the Operation HOMES program. We celebrate each time one of our guests is successful at finding permanent housing and can again begin to live an independent life without our help. However, we know there will continue to be individuals and families to take the place of those who leave the program.

Continuation

Operation HOMES has the same mission that we have had for the past 25 years. Churches couldn't host guests during the worst of the pandemic, so we plan to continue to use motels for shelter for as long as we must. To continue funding this more expensive approach to sheltering those in need in our county, we will continue to solicit individual donations as well as grants.

A Success Story

Operation HOMES had several success stories in 2021. One involved a young lady who was pregnant when she entered our program. She decided to place the baby for adoption. After the birth of the baby, she found full-time employment with benefits and an apartment that she could afford.

This content was provided by Operation HOMES in a progress report to the Medina County Community Fund.