Police hold meeting to discuss growing homelessness population, propose ways to help
Last week the Greenville Police Department held a meeting to discuss the growing population of unhoused residents throughout the city and propose ways to help those individuals, according to the Greenville Ohio Police Department’s social media page.
Greenville police and many other county organizations see the unhoused population as an issue in the city, the spokesperson said in the media release.
During the meeting, police handed out pictures to show the current condition of the Broadway Bridge and what it looked like after officers and the Street Department cleaned it out, the spokesperson said.
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Members from Family Health stated that they help the unhoused population by attempting to find them a job, providing Medication Assistance Treatment (MAT) and provide items such as clothes or phones, the spokesperson said.
EUM Church and Darke County Ministers Association both contributed $40 thousand in an attempt to help this prolonging issue, the release said.
The Fish Choice Pantry attended the meeting to let the public know of the days, times and location for people to go pick out their own food, the spokesperson said. The pantry is located at 400 Markwith Avenue and hands out food that is easy to eat without kitchen appliances.
The hours for residents to pick up food from the pantry include:
Mondays from 1 p.m. through 2 p.m.
Wednesdays beginning at 10 a.m. through 11 a.m.
Fridays from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The Tri County Board funds community housing which gives out resources such as a crisis hotline and a list of recovery homes in the area on their website.
Tri County Board reminded residents that homelessness is related to trauma and nobody needs to be homeless if they do not choose to, the spokesperson said in the release.
There are 14 recovery homes across three counties, the spokesperson said. These homes require individuals to be completely free of drugs if they want to continue living there.
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At the time of the meeting, Greenville had two recovery homes that were not at max capacity, the spokesperson said.
The unhoused community has the option to stay at the homeless shelter, although residents can only stay for 30 days maximum and it is usually filled to capacity, according to the spokesperson.
Ryan Delk and Law Director Mike Rieman mentioned that there are many opportunities for unhoused individuals to receive employment in Darke County with over 500 jobs available, the spokesperson said.
The Darke County Health Department works with people who were recently evicted to find them housing, the release states.
