To advocate for social and economic justice by holding systems accountable to carry out their responsibilities to create humane policies for responding to the needs of homeless people.

Advocating For Social Justice

One of the ways which the Columbus Coalition for the Homeless Advocates for Social Justice is by serving those who are among the most vulnerable in our society. For example, some people live outside each day in Central Ohio. Many of these people are among those who are most vulnerable.

Why do people live outdoors?
There are many reasons homeless persons live outside, no matter what the weather. Some persons can not handle the crowds and lack of privacy in the shelters. Some suffer from active substance addiction or mental illness which renders them unable or ineligible to conform to shelter rules and regulations. Others have been barred from the shelter system for past or current behavioral problems, including classification as a “sexual predator”. Some individuals value their independence, which they feel is lost in the large shelter programs. The current inability of shelters to serve couples without children and general lack of sufficient beds are other reasons people live outside.

What can we all do to help?                                                                       Often getting to know and support some one who is living outside can be a means of help for that person. Assisting with getting food, clothing which is appropriate to living outside, and medical care when needed is essential life saving service for some. The Coalition staff responds to calls for help from people who have such needs. We refer people to the appropriate agencies where these persons can get whatever help they need. And we provide supportive relationships with vulnerable people whenever we can do so. Everyone in Central Ohio can do the same. When you find that you are in a position of needing to know what to do to help some one who is living outside, or is otherwise vulnerable, call (614) 228-1342. We are very likely to be able to help or direct you to some one who can.

Another way that the Coalition Advocates for Social Justice is by identifying people's needs which the "system" of service providers is not meeting. When we know of such 'holes" in the system we bring them to the attention of the service providers and work out ways to fill those holes. If we cannot accomplish that within the current system of services, we try to get the attention of city and county officials to add more services to the network. And we have often found ways to temporarily fill those needs by direct action on the part of the Coalition staff.

What can we all do to help?                                                                     Getting the attention of officials regarding the needs of people who have little political power is some times a struggle. Citizens can assist the Coalition in advocating for more services and better services for people who are homeless by talking directly with those officials themselves and by join in advocacy efforts when those occur. Watch this website for such announcements of such actions.

Another way that the Coalition Advocates for Social Justice is by publishing STREET SPEECH.                                                                                            Why Publish A Street Newspaper?                                                               Since 1986 when the Columbus Coalition for the Homeless began bringing agencies and individuals together, its members have expressed interest in developing a street newspaper.  Larger cities throughout the country have created such newspapers and our sister coalitions in Cleveland and Cincinnati have published them for years.

Now that this city has become the 15^th largest in the U.S. and the largest city in the state of Ohio, it is only natural that the time should be ripe for Columbus to begin expressing its homeless voice.  To be quite honest, it would be more to the city’s credit if we did not have the need to create a street newspaper; unfortunately we do not feel this to be the case.

We believe that the development of a street newspaper is a logical outgrowth of our mission to advocate for homeless persons and to educate the central Ohio community about homelessness.  “Street Speech,” the paper’s title has been designed to be a loud voice for the interests of homeless persons.  These interests include access to safe and affordable housing, access to employment; a wage which will support an individual and a family; the availability of quality health care and community supports to help an individual survive during times of illness or incapacity.

Street Speech is also being published to eradicate myths about homelessness and homeless persons.  Our community is not educated about the large number of homeless individuals who are employed.  Suburban kids possess antiquated stereotypes that homeless people are dirty vagrants who do not wish to work and who panhandle all day for alcohol.  Few citizens know that kids and families are the largest growing group of homeless persons in this country.  We believe that it is our job to set the record straight, tell the facts as they are and debunk cruel and erroneous myths about people who are struggling, often due to no fault of their own.

We are also publishing Street Speech because organizations and programs designed to help homeless persons do not always do a good job.  The community, through its taxes and donations, pays large sums to non-profit agencies and housing organizations which are often beyond the reach of those who need these services the most.  Sometimes it is the fault of the Federal government which creates dysfunctional policies to exclude the neediest homeless persons from a program.  Other times it is the lethargy of policy makers; a mean spirited staff member who treats homeless persons without respect and dignity or a data hungry bureaucrat who delights in finding ways to gather more and more irrelevant information.  The point is that such situations need exposure and resolution and hopefully Street Speech can serve this cause.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly we publish Street Speech to give Columbus’ homeless persons a voice.  Who seeks out their life stories to understand what it is really like to be without a home, a job, a family?  Do homeless persons have the opportunity to speak their views to their Congressman or Senator? Do such elected officials spend time visiting homeless shelters?  And can homeless service providers really represent their consumers or does their need for self-preservation supersede any accurate portrayal of homeless misery? Homeless persons have a right to express their views and a right to be heard.  We hope that Street Speech can help them to achieve these goals.

Buy a copy ($1) each month from one of our street Venders. You will be supporting their initiative and learning about their lives.