“If they’ve got 42 men and 26 women who are homeless, but now they have a place to stay (at Hope House), they need to get enrolled,” Owens said during the Jan. 8 Middletown City Council meeting. “It doesn’t have to be an associate’s degree; we have certificate programs.
“We’re aggressive,” Owens said. “We’re not waiting for people to come to us. We’ll look and see where we can help Middletown to grow.”
There are roughly 33,000 homeless college students in the U.S. And statistics from the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty show that roughly 50 percent of the homeless population reported dropping out of school during some course of their education.
Phillips, 38, is currently studying at Cincinnati State to be a chemical dependency counselor. He is among the 70 men and women and 18 children who live in either the Hope House Center for Men on South Main Street or the Hope House Center for Women and Children on Girard Avenue.
“I came here with a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, so to be able to go over there (Cincinnati State) and be enrolled in college is a miracle,” said Phillips. “Especially in a field that I have had a past in that will be able to help me in the future.”
Laveikah Davis, Leticia Lawson and Dustin Pfeiffer are set to follow in Phillips’ footsteps as they prepare to go to school at Cincinnati State Middletown. They are being pushed by the leaders at Hope House to make something of their lives.
If a partnership between Cincinnati State Middletown and the Hope House Mission is consummated, even more men and women could enroll.
A partnership between two important downtown organizations has the potential to be “very powerful,” said Sandra Snyder, Hope House spokeswoman.
“It would be a real boost of morale and confidence for them to be able to attend classes,” she said of Hope House residents.
Judy Bober, an assistant director of Cincinnati State Middletown, said “this community has always reached out to help Hope House and that’s why they’re still there.”
This potential partnership would be the second for the Hope House Mission. The shelter currently has about 10 of its residents attending classes at Miami University Middletown. Because they live in poverty, they qualify for financial aid assistance through grants and loans, Snyder said.
Phillips said attending Cincinnati State Middletown has been a boost to his morale, and Davis, Lawson and Pfeiffer are excited to have that same opportunity.
“I want to get a decent job,” said Pfeiffer, 45. “I want to start my own business, a painting business.”
Davis and Lawson said the Rev. Mitchell Foster and the Center for Women and Children Director Melissa Schwarber have helped them up from rock bottom.
“Pastor Foster and Ms. Melissa have pushed us towards bettering ourselves,” said the 32-year-old Lawson, who earned her GED in November. “I’ve been out of prison for over a year and home’s not safe anymore because of drugs and violence, so having that extra push in the butt really helps out.”
Phillips’ homelessness is a result of his drug addiction, and he’s now been drug-free for more than 50 days. He wants to help others that are in the position he was before he came to the Hope House eight weeks.
“It’s got to be a great feeling to help other addicts recover,” he said. “It’s going to be an awesome feeling.”
Davis, 20, who is expecting a son in March, said she didn’t think about school after her mom died two years ago.
“I felt there was nothing left in life for me to do,” said Davis. “But at the shelter, they showed me I still have a life and I can go on with her being gone and get my education and be a better person and do better things in life.”
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