City Mission: 'We urgently need community support'

FINDLAY — With the abrupt termination of federal grant funding, City Mission will see a loss of approximately $270,000 this year for Project HOME funding for the low-barrier shelter, along with additional funds to support on-site mental health support provided by Family Resource Center. An additional $1.5 million has been lost over the entire grant period, which was to run through Sept. 29, 2029. Precia Stuby, executive director of the Hancock County Board of Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services, said Project HOME lost its funding just a few months into the second year of what had been a 5-year grant. The grant paid for the development of the low-barrier shelter at the City Mission, as well as on-site mental health and addiction treatment. The project had been in the works for around three years before it opened, she said. An impact statement from Tyler Layton, program director for City Mission, states that City Mission does not intend to close the low-barrier shelter, but will need other funding to keep it open. Layton wrote that City Mission was notified at 8:02 p.m. Tuesday. "The Low-Barrier Shelter was never just a place to sleep," he wrote. "It was a stabilization point, an engagement doorway, and — for many — the first place in years where they felt safe enough to accept help. It functioned on trust, consistency and relationship." "This sudden loss of funding has created an immediate gap while we pursue legal remedies, including an injunction, and work to secure alternative funding through available state resources," wrote City Mission Executive Director Kathryn Bausman in a letter to community partners. She wrote that the organization is "doing everything possible to respond responsibly and strategically. However, the most immediate and critical need is our low-barrier shelter. Each night, this shelter provides safety and warmth for 20-25 individuals — those who are most vulnerable and have the fewest options. Without this service, many of these individuals would be left outside in bitterly cold conditions. "At this time, I do not intend to close the low-barrier shelter," she continued. But to keep it open, City Mission "urgently" needs short-term gap funding to sustain operations while looking for longer-term funding and while legal processes move forward, she wrote. Through the shelter, 5,315 nights of safe lodging were provided. Fifteen individuals were transitioned to higher levels of care, including permanent housing, each month, and 53 were referred to mental health and substance use treatment, exceeding engagement goals, the impact statement noted. "One guest entered the shelter after years of cycling between the streets, emergency rooms, and incarceration – distrustful, untreated and actively using," Layton wrote. "Because staff knew him by name, showed up consistently, and removed barriers to care, he eventually agreed to treatment for the first time. His progress was not the result of a single service, but of a system built on relationship and trust. That is what the Low-Barrier Shelter made possible." "We want to be clear: we do not intend to close the Low-Barrier Shelter," Layton wrote. "We believe deeply in this work. However, without this funding, we cannot sustain it alone. To keep these doors open, we urgently need community support." "This is a moment where our community's compassion and commitment truly matter," Bausman wrote. "Any support — financial, advocacy or partnership — will help ensure that no one is left without shelter during this critical time."