CLEVELAND — Loh reports she's been homeless in Cleveland for several years and believes increasing prices are partly to blame for a growing number of homeless families in Northeast Ohio.
Loh has also been a strong advocate in helping the local homeless population through her work with the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, NEOCH. The Coalition's most recent annual report on homelessness reflects an increase in homeless families, with 1,717 homeless students reported in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District in 2021 alone.
Loh shared a Thanksgiving holiday message, hoping more Northeast Ohio residents will donate or volunteer to help local homeless residents.
“You should be thankful that right now your are not out on the street, or staying in a car, or even in the horrible shelters." Loh said “Please be thankful, but you should be aware you are also at risk if your are a renter."
"Even people paying a mortgage, you have got to be careful, because our economy may go wrong again," Loh added. “Inflation has already put people in lots of trouble, they can not even put food on the table for the family already.”
According to the coalition report, NEOCH street outreach leader Dennis Ashton and his team helped 373 people out of homelessness and into permanent housing in 2021. Ashton believes, that sadly, that number could grow this year.
“It’s rough, it’s tough, you have families out here with no place to go even though it’s Thanksgiving," Ashton said. “You know, you’re sleeping in a tent, you’re sleeping in a doorway, or trying to ride the bus, it’s hard. Everyday you come out to do this job, it’s rough”
“I get so many calls that I will be homeless, I can’t pay my rent,” Ashton added. "Sometimes you wait till the last minute before you try to get help.”
Information on how someone can donate or volunteer can been found on the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless web page.
Meanwhile, Ashton shared his own Thanksgiving holiday message.
“This Thanksgiving I wish they would think of the people who are not so fortunate," Ashton said. "They are people that don’t have a warm place to go, not a place to eat, not a place to cook a meal.”
