Mary Alice Reporting –
Tuscarawas County Commissioners approved a proclamation this week to raise awareness about homelessness.
Representatives from the Friends of the Homeless shelter attended the meeting and gave insight into the 36-bed operation located in New Philadelphia.
Rev. Joe Svancara says that since opening in 2005, more than 4,000 men, women, and children have safely slept as a shelter guest, with more than 6,000 receiving food, hygiene items, coats, and other services.
He points out that there is a host of situations that can cause a person or family to need the shelter, some being homeless from a house fire or other natural disaster.
“Could also be as a result of a sudden job loss, loss of a care provider or bread winner in the family. We’ve also experienced that many people have experienced homelessness as a result of domestic violence, which we saw in Tuscarawas County, during the pandemic, go up by twenty-five percent.”
In October 2023, the homeless shelter provided a place for 39 people and served 562 meals to individuals who were not staying.
As for the Commissioner’s Proclamation, Svancara says November is the Awareness Month since it’s a time of giving and weather transition.
“There are many people that necessarily don’t have the same advantages or the same security as the rest of us, so the commissioner’s issuing this proclamation is recognizing what Friends of the Homeless does for the entirety of the community
Numbers for the local organization indicated that, in 2022, they housed 199 people, 30 of them children, served over 6,000 meals, and distributed over 400 food boxes.
For more details on the Tuscarawas County Friends of the Homeless, find them online at www.fothtusc.org.
Copyright WTUZ Radio Inc., 2023