Vets, recovery housing to get help

Commissioners allocate up to $750K for organizations

Lorain County commissioners voted Sept. 22 to allocate up to $750,000 for Lorain County veterans organizations and recovery housing for women with children.

The funding, which tackles two key priorities for the county, comes from its $60 million share of the federal American Rescue Plan passed by Congress in January.

The commissioners heard from Lorain County Veterans Service Commission Executive Director Jacob Smith and Jeff Kamm, executive director of Road to Hope.

Lorain County Veterans Service Commission

The commissioners unanimously approved two resolutions that will provide up to $250,000 in funding for Lorain County veterans posts, who have gone through unprecedented struggles.

Commissioners approved $108,589 for 17 grant applications already given the green light by the Veterans Service Commission and a second resolution will open a second round of grant applications.

In this process, the Veterans Service Commission identifies potential grantees and the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office will sign off on each potential grant to comply with Ohio Revised Code.

Commissioner Matt Lundy said with many veterans struggling during the coronavirus pandemic with homelessness, unemployment, mental health and substance abuse issues, helping

them is putting the American Rescue Plan funds to good use.

“We can’t do enough to help our veterans. They made it possible for us to live in a free country and to have a good democracy where we can have some healthy debates along the way. They made it all possible and we can’t do enough to help them,” Lundy said.

Smith said the funding is necessary to assist some of Lorain County’s more than 30 veterans service posts that still are struggling making ends meet, with many facing the threat of closing their doors entirely.

Posts rely heavily on fundraisers like fish fry’s to cover operating expenses, he said.

With the pandemic shutting down many in-person events, losing those fundraising opportunities have threatened their financial positions, Smith said.

“As a veteran service commission, we want to see those posts surviving,” Smith said. “These individuals, both men and women, have done so much for our country.

“We are here today, you guys are meeting here today in peace, because of the service of those individuals and what they do,” he said. “And we, working with the county commissioners, want to ensure that the long history of veteran service organizations within this county, continue unabated.”

During the pandemic, many Lorain County veterans posts sustained property damage, saw aging equipment such as refrigerators and stoves fail, and are facing the difficult decision of doing whatever they can to keep the lights on and continue serving the community, Smith said.

In an effort to save money, some of the posts unplugged their refrigerators and freezers, he said.

“However, when they unplugged them to save electricity, they didn’t turn back on when they could start reopening and that cost these posts thousands of dollars,” Smith said. “Some posts actually mentioned that they didn’t know whether or not they were going to be able to continue to do dinners, because of the price of buying some of this equipment.”

Steven Bansek, president of the Veterans Service Commission, told the commissioners that without the funding, between 10 and 20 of Lorain County’s veterans posts could close due to the pandemic.

“Most of us are up in years,” Bansek said. “And I’m 83 years of age.

“So, we’re losing our veterans. And I know that age group, and most of them want to stay close to home, because they do not want to drive etcetera. And these are important factors for the veterans post along with many others.”

The posts are in dire need with the Veterans Service Commission unable to reach all of them that needed help during the pandemic, Bansek said.

Road to Hope

The commissioners also voted 2-1 to grant $500,000 to Road to Hope for a new recovery housing project in Vermilion.

The Village — A Road to Hope Community, is a $3 million project to convert a former hotel at 1863 Liberty Ave. into a recovery housing facility for women with children, and pregnant women.

Kamm said the project began construction in August and it’s expected to open in May 2022 with eight two-bedroom units and six one-bedroom units with the capacity to house 20 women and their children.

The project will add an administration building and an event building with space developed for a daycare center.

Road to Hope serves 400 to 500 people each year, and The Village would serve between 40 and 60 women, adding much needed services to tackle Northeast Ohio’s opioid crisis.

In keeping women together with their children during their recovery journey, Kamm said that it has an impact on multiple individuals.

“A lot of times when you’re talking about women that are addicted to substance abuse, their children are being shuffled around, whether it be in the system, whether it be with a family member,” she said.

“Not being able to have their children with them is impacting different families like grandparents, relatives, different relatives that are taking temporary custody of the child, or taking care of that child while the mother is trying to get their life in order.”

The programs and services offered at The Village will enable women to go through substance abuse treatment and getting the tools to continue operating as a family.

Board President Michelle Hung praised Road to Hope, stating it works tirelessly to help Lorain County residents overcome the ravaging effects of addiction. Hung said she was impressed with Road to Hope’s plan and encouraged the community to help where they can in making projects like this possible.

“These organizations in our community cannot do this alone,” she said. “We are strong and resilient folks here in Lorain County, and we deeply care about helping others.”

Lundy also spoke in support of the project and asked the public to look at the big picture in this investment.

“That’s a lot of money, no question about it,” he said. “But, I think one thing that we always have to remember is the overall impact that this epidemic is having on our county’s economy and on our county services.

“So, when we make these large investments, whether it’s for the stabilization center, or for the Road to Hope Village project, we have to understand that.

“Currently, we are spending a lot of money in law enforcement trying to get drug dealers off the street. We’re spending a lot of money in our courts prosecuting cases; we’re spending a lot of money on our Coroner’s Office, sadly having to look into causes of death for overdosing.

“We’re spending a lot of money as taxpayers with ambulance runs having to address administering Narcan.”

The impact of the opioid epidemic effects multiple layers of society and the economy with many individuals unable to work due to struggling with addiction and mental health issues and relaying on social assistance, Lundy said.

He added the need to have a candid conversation about it.