City officials working to rehome families displaced after shelter closure

SPRINGFIELD — Nearly 40 kids and their families are without a place to stay tonight after a homeless shelter shut down.

As reported on News Center 7 at 11, City officials are working to help displaced families after the closure of a local homeless shelter

According to a spokesperson for the city, the immediate closure comes after the City Commission voted Monday in a 3-2 split to cease funding for the shelter.

“The City Commission vote that ultimately led to the shelter closure operated by our partner Homefull was not made lightly, and we understand the significant impact it has on the families who relied on its services,” Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said. “Our immediate priority is to coordinate with our community partners to facilitate this process and ensure a smooth transition for all affected individuals.”

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Shaniqua Ragland and her children had been staying at Executive Inn since May.

Tuesday morning she found out Springfield City Commission voted to stop funding for the shelter and it forced people out.

“What are we supposed to do? This is our livelihood here. This is our living standards,” Ragland said.

Mike Calabrese, the director of The Opportunities for Individual Change in Clark County, an organization that helps people with housing, thinks it could have been handled differently.

“They lost their place to stay today. I was told that Homefull Dayton notified the city about 8:00 or 8:30 this morning that they were packing up, moving out, and that the city just felt like their back was against the wall and didn’t have a lot of options,” Calabrese said.

“It breaks my heart to see it. They’re already up, been uprooted and their life is already in total upheaval and turmoil and now we could have done better,” he added.

Calabrese said most people, who were forced out of the Executive Inn, can get into another shelter, or hotel for the night.

He said he has plans to advocate with board member Charlie Bush for Clark County to step in with emergency funding.

We will continue following this story.

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