Extended Housing officials have announced the launching of an awareness campaign focused on homelessness during the organization’s recent stakeholders’ meeting.
According to the nonprofit, Extended Housing’s mission is to prevent and end homelessness for individuals in Lake County with serious mental illness.
The Painesville-based body receives funding and support from the Lake County Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services Board. Established by Ohio statute, the ADAMHS Board is responsible for planning, funding, and evaluating Lake County’s mental health and recovery services.
Dubbed “I’m Home,” the campaign serves, ultimately, to increase awareness and eliminate stigma/misconceptions.
“It’s very easy to miss the gravity of homelessness in Lake County because we are not an urban county where it is seen on our street corners,” said Stacy Ray, resource development and community engagement coordinator with Extended Housing. “People experiencing homelessness here are living in tents or their cars. They are also couch surfing from home to home among family and friends.
“Through the campaign, we aren’t just trying to say we have many experiencing homelessness, but also there are some myths around homelessness we want to erase,” he added. “It’s also easy for many of us to forget what that phrase ‘I’m home’ means. It goes far beyond a roof over a person’s head — it’s about the peace, security and even joy that comes from being able to say, ‘I’m home.’ ”
In efforts to drive the campaign, Extended Housing has collected stories from clients and tenants who have experienced being homeless to portray an unvarnished reality for residents.
“I’m Home” also seeks to reveal different ways homelessness and reducing homelessness impact a community.
Beginning the last week of March and running through June, the campaign will stretch across different media platforms, from print to social to radio.
According to Extended Housing, myths and facts surrounding homelessness are often, even subconsciously, jumbled including:
• People experiencing homelessness are lazy
• People experiencing homelessness are violent and dangerous
• The root cause of homelessness is the result of “bad choices”
• The value of stable housing to someone who has a mental illness and experiencing homelessness is grossly underestimated and more prevalent than realized
• On any given night, 93 people are experiencing homelessness in Lake County
Extended Housing is continuously looking for opportunities to speak at schools, civic groups and churches about homelessness in Lake County, Ray noted.
On March 29 at 8 a.m., the nonprofit will hold a breakfast on-site to learn more about what Lake County’s faith leaders are seeing at their houses of worship, while also sharing resources available to those seeking help.
“Lake County is fortunate to have several organizations that focus on helping those experiencing homelessness — Sub Zero Mission, Project Hope for the Homeless, Little Annie’s Hope Train, and the ADAMHS Board,” Ray said.
“We all try to work together to eliminate homelessness and raise awareness, with each of us having our own focuses,” he added. “For example, Extended Housing strives to help all experiencing homelessness with a focus on those with serious mental illnesses, while Sub Zero Mission has a focus on our veterans.
“We want people to come away from this campaign with greater knowledge about homelessness, especially with greater clarity of myths versus facts,” Ray said. “We also want to personalize homelessness, because it is here not just in places like New York City or Los Angeles.”
Extended Housing is located at 270 E. Main St., Suite 300 in Painesville.
For more information, call 440-352-8424, ext. 124 or email info@extendedhousing.org.
