Community members in Steubenville are working together to help unhoused people, after the eastern Ohio city’s homeless shelters closed.
Urban Mission Ministries shuttered both its emergency shelter and one for women and children in October, citing financial strain.
Now, three months later, the community has yet to find a long-term solution to shelter people in need.
“We do have warming centers here,” said Beth Rupert-Warren, the community service coordinator for the Jefferson County Resource Network.
But she says those services are more limited than a permanent, overnight shelter.
“Sometimes it’s hourly, sometimes it’s just for maybe 24 hours,” she said. “Some people are having to go to other areas, other counties and communities.”
She says discussions are in the works to open a new facility in the future, but that will take time.
“We've got people who are already willing to make donations, to volunteer,” she said. “It's just, unfortunately, the timeline right now is when it's frigid and cold, and we need to be able to meet those needs.”
Ohio’s shelter bed shortage
Steubenville is not the only Ohio community having discussions about how to help unhoused people.
In December, the city of Athens approved zoning changes to allow for temporary emergency shelters. Meanwhile, the Marietta Planning Commission recently rejected a proposal for an overnight shelter.
Statewide, a count in 2024 found there were 8,338 homeless adults in Ohio, but fewer than 5,701 available year-round shelter beds. That amounts to just 68 beds for every 100 people in need.
Rupert-Warren said Jefferson County’s situation is unique because of its location in the tristate area.
“We are literally on the river, right across the river from West Virginia. We're like 20 minutes from the Pennsylvania state line,” Rupert-Warren said. “So that makes us very unique that we have people coming from multiple states.”
She says it can be complicated and time-consuming to connect people with state resources if they don’t have an established Ohio residence.
