COLUMBUS, Ind. – The City of Columbus and the United Way of Bartholomew County hosted a public forum on homelessness Wednesday night at Donner Center. About 150 individuals, representing almost all walks of life, attended the meeting.
Those who participated were diverse socio-economically showing broad interest in helping persons affected. Several people in the room shared first-hand experiences and how services in the community offered them pathways to grow themselves from being homeless and dependent.
There seemed to be a consensus that most homeless persons are unaware of the agencies that can help them. One formerly homeless woman stated, “If you remain homeless and don’t get into the support systems in place you will surely die.”
There were five areas of discussion:
- Housing
- The many experiences of homelessness
- Finding and accessing community resources
- How to talk about it
- Exploring opportunities
The United Way and the City of Columbus will release a summary of input gathered in a few weeks.
