“Without an additional flow of grant funding and donations, cuts are necessary to maintain operations on an emergency basis until currently pending grants and reimbursements become available in coming months,” Elaina Bradley, Sheltered Inc. executive director, wrote in an email. “The board has authorized cuts reducing hours for the men’s shelter and planning is also underway to prepare a reduction in hours of operation for the family shelter housing women and children.”
The new hours will be 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Bradley said about half a dozen employees who work at the men’s shelter during the day will be let go, but if the shelter is able to increase hours again she hopes to rehire them. She said she hopes Sheltered Inc. will not have to reduce hours at the family shelter.
All men housed at the emergency shelter will receive support from staff to ensure they get services from partners during the day, Bradley said.
At the time OIC awarded funding to Sheltered Inc., Calabrese said he and OIC’s board of directors wanted to do everything in their power to “stabilize” the nonprofit, with it being the most well-equipped to handle the local homelessness crisis with its facilities and experts.
Calabrese said OIC “monitored every dollar” it gave Sheltered Inc. and encountered no issues with documentation and invoicing “other than the normal learning curves when using new funding.” Any issues were immediately addressed, he said.
“We did [our] due diligence to ensure a proper expenditure accountability,” Calabrese said.
In February 2023, Clark County terminated a portion of a $700,000 contract — of which about $495,000 was reimbursed — with Sheltered Inc., which officials said was due to “multiple violations” in regards to the reimbursement of funds found following a review.
Prevention, Retention and Contingency, or PRC, is a program through Ohio DJFS that provides work support and other services to low-income families. This program is funded through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), a federally funded program.
“The most glaring [issue] was the lack of proper [Prevention, Retention and Contingency] applications for recipients of services,” wrote Clark County DJFS director Ginny Martycz in a memo asking the county to terminate its contract. “Additionally, it appears there were requests for reimbursement for items paid for by other funding sources.”
Following the end of this contract, Sheltered Inc. closed one of its two emergency shelters, reduced staffing, ended services at low-income Woodford Apartments and reduced hours at its remaining emergency shelter. The OIC funding allowed Sheltered Inc. to return to normal hours.
Bradley said Sheltered Inc. is “optimistic that this is a temporary situation” and is working with government and community leaders “to ensure the homeless in our community receive the shelter and assistance they so desperately need.”
“We are urging local governments to develop plans to ensure that Clark County families in crisis are being adequately protected,” Calabrese said in a letter. “With the current process for assistance being so familiar to people facing homelessness … OIC remains in a position to assist local governments in addressing this imeding issues; and OIC will continue to remain ready to provide financial oversight and guidance for homeless services, if it is so desired by the local governments.”
Bradley said Sheltered Inc. has applied for a $120,280 grant from the city, with more than $56,000 to be allocated to the emergency shelters and about $35,000 to go toward rapid rehousing with deposit assistance and the payment of first month’s rent. She said the application will go in front of the city commission at the May 7 meeting. Sheltered Inc. was eligible to apply for these funds after the city found no mismanagement of funds it awarded the nonprofit in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Springfield will continue to see a homelessness crisis until a comprehensive prevention strategy exists, Calabrese said.
Sheltered Inc. is asking for support from the community “to help bridge the financial gap that exists to require the temporary limitation of emergency housing hours.” Donations to the nonprofit can be made at https://givebutter.com/6oi9yw or sent to 501 W. High St.
