Facing the 'ultimate failure of our society'

Feb. 17—Homelessness in Clinton County is not always obvious, but it is widespread enough that the Clinton YWCA acquired a $4.16 million government grant to add a transitional supportive housing facility to the landscape of programs, responders, and ministries already in place.

"They're not like you see people under a bridge with a can of beans over a fire," said Cpl. Mike Adney of the Clinton Police Department, who last month participated in the Department of Housing and Urban Development's annual Point in Time count of local homeless individuals. "The majority of the group that we found this time was sleeping in their cars."

During the Point in Time count, law enforcement and YWCA Empowerment Center representatives offered information for local resources to the individuals they encountered, as well as water and sandwiches.

Since there is no public emergency homeless shelter in the city, Clinton Police are exploring funding and liability issues in order to establish a warming center, ideally in downtown Clinton. The YWCA supportive housing facility will not include an emergency shelter, but plans include warming and cooling space, showers and community space.

In Clinton County, one in three people are at risk of homelessness due to poverty, according to the YWCA.

In Clinton County during 2022, there were 1,296 people in 828 households "who experienced extreme housing instability sufficient to cause them to seek services or shelter, including 349 children under 18, 103 youth ages 18 to 24, 681 adults ages 25 to 54, and 152 senior adults over 55 years old," says the "Iowa Homelessness County Level Data Book" from The Institute for Community Alliances. The county is home to 46,589 people in 19,103 households, it also notes.

"Homelessness has become a much larger problem over the last few years in Clinton," said Regan Michaelsen, executive director of Information, Referral & Assistance Services. "When I started working at IRAS 20 years ago, we would see a handful of people reporting to be homeless in a year's time. Today we see several homeless coming in everyday for services and seeking shelter."

Similar to the YWCA, IRAS handles a wide variety of assistance in the area. The organization identifies the needs of people in the community and link them to the appropriate services to help. This includes clothing, food, financial and shelter assistance. According to its annual report that spans from October 2022 to September 2023, it housed 475 individuals for a total of 2,883 hotel nights to help keep people off the streets. When that wasn't available, they helped provide supplies like coats, blankets and mats to ensure some added safety to the chronically homeless. Chronic means one year or longer.

The annual report also says 249 families received rental assistance through IRAS to help keep them in their homes. That's in addition to the families that needed help with food, utilities, medication and clothing.

"Homelessness is such an important issue to tackle in every community," Michaelsen said. "Being homeless affects many aspects of life, everything is more difficult when you do not have a place to live. It is hard to get a job when you do not have an address, phone or a place to sleep and shower. Where do you prepare meals to stay nourished? We need to care for all our community members, especially the disadvantaged."

A 2016 study done by the United Way found that 43% of Clinton households struggle to cover their daily costs of living, which leaves them just a few major life events away from facing homelessness.

"I believe homelessness is the ultimate failure of our society," said Andy Green, executive director of the United Way of Clinton County. "Homelessness doesn't happen overnight, it's the end of snowballing issues."

"Homelessness is not unique to Clinton, nor is the situation," he added. "Bigger cities have more resources, more beds and more opportunities."

The United Way of Clinton County is a funding resource for the various agencies that aid people in ways that keep them sheltered.

"The biggest obstacle I see is community support," Green said. "The common theme seems to be, 'I don't mind helping the homeless, I just don't want it done near me.' When everyone wants to continue to cast the homeless out, it does not help our community, it continues to make the problem worse."

The National Coalition for the Homeless found that 53% of people staying in shelters across the country are employed, pointing to a problem affording shelter, not a problem finding work.

"Our community is not alone in the growing number of people experiencing homelessness," said YWCA Clinton Executive Director Shannon Sander-Welzien. "It is a state-wide and nation-wide issue. Quality, affordable housing is the solution. Housing is truly a social determinant of health. Community members have the opportunity to succeed when they have safe, affordable housing. Access to affordable housing improves the quality of life of communities, leading to improved health and safety, job opportunities, and financial stability. It just doesn't work in trying to put it the other way around, as some would like to believe.

"A community-wide understanding of and approach to ending homelessness is needed. Luckily, our community is full of good people who care, and caring is really the first step."