After a year of drifting leaderless, Toledo-Lucas County Homelessness Board has a new director who has proven herself as a devoted community advocate and is a good fit for the job.
Rachel Gagnon, the former chief operating officer for Sunshine Communities, was named the new executive director for a restructured entity.
Along with hiring Ms. Gagnon, the board has nine new appointed members and a new formal partnership with the Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority, all of which should offer some new stability.
The revamped entity and its new executive director have their work cut out for them, particularly as Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken said the nonprofit reached a conclusion last year that reorganizing was necessary because it was falling short in providing the support that homeless people in the region need.
Ms. Gagnon pledged to bring her advocacy and community-minded thinking to the task. A new commitment to coordinating effective policies to deal with the region’s homelessness issue is long overdue.
The homeless are among the most vulnerable among us. In the Toledo area, an effective and robust homelessness board should be able to coordinate the efforts of non-profits while pursuing resources from state and federal agencies.
Signs of Toledo’s homelessness epidemic are all around. Toledo Public Schools has more homeless students than any other school district in Ohio. Of TPS’ roughly 22,000 students, nearly 2,700 of them were homeless in the 2015-2016 school year. Most of those homeless children were in families living doubled up with other families, but some were living in shelters.
Those children faced myriad hurdles before they even get to school each morning. Their families need help to re-establish themselves in stable homes so their children can thrive.
Toledo’s homeless need help. They need shelter and they need homes.
Enthusiastic and experienced new leadership at the homelessness board is good news for the region.
First Published November 25, 2019, 5:00 a.m.
