TOLEDO, Ohio — The city of Toledo, Lucas Metropolitan Housing, the Board of Lucas County Commissioners and local nonprofit advocates are working to prevent homelessness in the region, especially among youth.
Data from the Toledo Lucas County Homelessness Board shows 1,590 Lucas County youths in 2022 were experiencing homelessness. Of that total, 66.6% were African American, 18.3% were white and 12.2% were multiple races.
When it comes to the continual breakdown of that total, by gender, roughly 48% were female and 52% were male.
The age breakdown for Lucas County youth experiencing homelessness is as follows:
- 0-5: 22.58%
- 5-12: 40.19%
- 13-17: 22.96%
- 18-24: 12.28%
The percentage is lower with older youth, with just 592 being in the "youth in transition" age. So, the focus on giving them choices after aging out of care is necessary.
This group of students has to deal with leaving foster care, aging out of the child welfare system and transitioning from high school to adulthood, among other issues. Giving them a chance to choose where they go is the goal of the Park Apartments Affordable Housing Community. Randall Muth, the executive director of Lucas County Children Services, said he could not be happier.
"If we stop talking, if we stop moving forward with our own agenda and listen, really listen, to the people that we're here to serve, great things can happen," he said.
LMH Executive Director Rachel Gagnon said giving homeless youth and youth at risk of being homeless a choice in housing creates opportunities beyond what some may initially think.
"The ripple effect of what this could be is really profound and really something to be celebrated," she said.
November is National Adoption Awareness Month and the adoption system is supposed to work to create a better future for those children by finding them temporary or forever homes. There are more than 100 Lucas County children in need of adoption, Muth said.
"Communities thrive when its children are supported, nurtured and taken care of," he said.
In 2023, Muth said more than 40 children will be celebrating Adoption Day, but there are nearly 200 who are still waiting.
Gagnon said offering those who do not get adopted a place that they can call their home is important/
"Housing is our core foundation, it's one of our core elements of operation," she said. "But of course, we do so much more because it takes so much more."
Demolition of the old Park Hotel began Wednesday morning at 201 Knapp Street. The Park Apartments will have an anticipated groundbreaking next spring and are expected to be completed in 2025.