Tammy Dennis, the administrative director of the Highland County Homeless shelter, speaks during the Highland County Prevention and Recovery Coalition meeting.
John Hackley | The Times-Gazette
Tammy Dennis, the administrative director of the Highland County Homeless shelter, spoke about the services provided by the shelter at a meeting of the Highland County Prevention and Recovery Coalition on Wednesday, Aug. 28.
The shelter can serve 28 people at a time and typically helps about 150 people a year. The shelter assists men, women and families with children who live within Highland, Clinton, Pickaway, Fayette and Ross counties for up to 90 days.
Dennis said the shelter is progression-based.
“We start out with 30 days, and in that 30 days, the expectation is that they get income if they don’t have income,” she said. “If they do have income they move on to housing, and because of the progression base, we have to case note, and there is the expectation that they do make progress.”
Dennis said the people who utilize the shelter are required to undergo a background check to ensure they are not on the sex registry or have been convicted of violent crimes.
“We have lowered our barriers to about the bare minimum, but there is a process,” she said.
Dennis said many of the people who come to the shelter have recently come from recovery treatment programs.
“The only thing that we ask is that at the time they are not currently on drugs and that they will not be in withdrawal at the shelter,” she said. “We’re not a care facility, and we’re just not equipped for that. She also said that marijuana is not allowed at the shelter because of other people who are in recovery.
Often, clients at the shelter are encouraged to become roommates with other people at the shelter when they gain income and find housing.
“More than several of our clients are doing that right now because of the cost of rent,” Dennis said.
Dennis said that the employment search for those at the shelter is client-driven.
“We ask that the client do the footwork, be we, by all means, do anything in our power to assist,” she said. “We will do everything except for filling out the application.”
Dennis said that she works to ensure the shelter has room for higher-priority clients such as children, disabled individuals and the elderly.
“We all know that lots of times our clients need a boost or need some assistance,” Dennis said. “Anything that we can do with the end and ultimate goal that they leave here housed is the main priority, but realistically that does not always happen.
The shelter can be reached at 937-393-0634 or 937-402-4433.
Reach John Hackley at 937-402-2571.
