#recitivism

Mentally Ill

Drug Users

Out casts

Given Up on Society

Migrant Workers

Over worked and Under Paid

Black Listed

Housed Homeless

Formally Housed wo Support

Motel/Hotel Homeless

Group Homelessness

Unneeded

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Mentally Ill

Since Reagan shut down the mental health hospitals (and there were good reasons to do so), these people have struggled to get the support they have needed. They don't have family, they don't have shelter, and they are not aware enough to seek help. The state is some form needs to provide for them, but many states don't / won't because they are avoiding the sins of the past.

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Drug Users

It takes more than just trying drugs to become addicted to drugs. Many people who have become drug users are attempting to self medicate issues, like ADHD or PTSD and Trauma. Citys are now starting Drug Treatment Centers and Safe Injection Sites to slow diseases and help these people get treatment for a myriad of issues, not just the initial cause the led them to drugs to begin with.

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Out Casts

These are people who have been thrown out of their homes as children because they didn't / couldn't conform to the familys ideals. Many children in this situation are usually in the LGBT Community. Unfortunatly, because of where they are outcast, their options are usually limited, and their life usually starts by paying for housing and security through sexual favors. Which, leads into drugs and addiction as their problems continue to accumulate.

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Given Up on Society

These individuals have seen the worst of society and have decided not to be a part of it. Yet, still rely on society to survive. They don't do drugs, are not addicted to anything, and live on the street, because they are bucking the system that they think is oppressing them.

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Migrant Workers

While technically not homeless, these individual move from site to site to find work, usually with farmers picking crops in fields. They may appear homeless as they migrate, choosing instead to sleep on the street vs a motel, to save money.

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Over Worked and Under Paid

These people have lost their homes because they can't find enough hours to pay the mortgage or rent. They are now sleeping in their cars, in a last ditch effort to appear normal. Or, they may sleep in tents in neighbors backyards.

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Black Listed

These individuals can no longer be hired for work for some reason. They have been black listed by the industry or society at large. They could have been in prison, or a job decided to provide negative references whenever a new job called to follow up on their work history. These individuals don't have the funds to fight such claims, and let alone figure out who is making the claim.

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Housed Homeless

These people have been provided shelter from the city. They are technically not counted as homeless anymore, but, at any time they could lose their shelter due to their condition (mental or physical). Or, the shelter that they have been provided is not equipped to handle their unique case. Many housed homeless still live as if they are homeless fearing being driven back to the street at any given moment.

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Formally House wo Support

These individuals were housed, but lost their support structure needed to help them remain homeless. This may be a funding group, or an emotional support group, or social services. In either case, they have returned to the street.

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Motel/Hotel Homeless

This group of individuals lives in a hotel or motel. They have enough money to pay for a room, but don't have the credit or the references needed to rent an apartment. Social Service won't help them as they are not living on the street.

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Group Homeless

These people are living 5 to 10 per room in an attempt to prevent themselves from becoming homeless. On their own, each would be homeless, but as a group, one is usually able to secure an apartment and allows the others to cohabitate.

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Unneeded

There is a 9th group of homeless. They are the people who where housed, but then left their housing because they were removed from their support group, and can't cope without their support group.

To understand this, make a list of every person you interact with. Every store you shop. Every service you use. Every place that you go. This is your support network.

When you go to work, you stop at a Starbucks for coffee and a snack. You stop at a shop for lunch. You work with people in the office. You go shopping after. You come home to pets and family. This is your support network.

But for a person with shelter anxiety, they fear loosing all of these things. The people they knew that served them coffee. The people they had lunch with. The people they worked with. Not just the things they own, like their cloths, bedding, memories in pictures or mementos, this whole support network that told them they were a good person and that if they could just make it one more day, the sky would clear and everything would be ok. Because, someone was watching out for them.

But, that day doesn't come. They are ripped from everything they know. And, they have to start all over again. Without a plan. Without support. Without anyone to help them transition.

They move into their car. Or buggy. Or suitcase. And leave everything else behind.

It's all gone.

And, that happens again when they move into a shelter. Everyone on the street who supported them are now gone. The social workers. Their supposed friends. The people who watched their stuff. The physicians who understood them. It's all gone again.

So, they can't take the stress.

They return to the street.

These hardly look like jails.

Finding a job can be tough for anybody. Having a criminal record doesn’t make it impossible, but it sure doesn’t help.

That’s just one of the issues a two-year-old program in Athens County aims to help ex-offenders overcome as they rejoin society. The Athens County Reentry Task Force provides assistance to those who are newly released from incarceration in effort to help them lead productive lives away from the prison system. The program is designed to increase public safety, lower local law enforcement costs and reduce Athens County’s recidivism rate.

Last week, the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services awarded a grant to Athens County Job and Family Services, which will aid in the expansion of the task force.