Homelessness is an undoubtedly complex issue.
Some of the most complicated cases lie on the intersection of poverty and mental illness, neither of which we as a country have figured out how to adequately address. A lack of access to affordable housing is another barrier growing in prominence post-COVID.
One solution alone will never be the silver bullet. But Summit County’s number of unsheltered homeless people rising by 300% in the past two years should serve as a wakeup call to both the city and the county that it’s time to start exploring real, long-term strategies.
The number of those living without shelter in the county rose from 53 to 211 between 2022 and 2024, the Continuum of Care found with its Point in Time count in January . Mar-quetta Bodie, the executive director of the organization, expects that number to remain elevated into 2025. The organization counted nearly 700 people experiencing homelessness during that count − a 56% increase from the 2022 count.