Providing Care Throughout Central Ohio
Southeast Healthcare provides access to primary healthcare, dental, and other services for people who are homeless. We provide services in our clinic offices and from health coaches who go to various places in our communities.
At Southeast, we are dedicated to serving people who are unsheltered and in homeless shelters through our FQHC services.
Some of the Homeless Services We Provide Include:
- Men’s Homeless Shelter
- Transitional Housing
- PATH Homeless Outreach and Treatment Teams
- Residential Services
Friends of the Homeless
Men’s Emergency Shelter
Friends of the Homeless provides support to homeless men through emergency shelter, transitional, and supportive housing programs. Since 1983, Friends of the Homeless has provided our fellow citizens who are experiencing a homeless crisis with the opportunity to re-establish themselves in housing. While we continue to assist the most vulnerable in our community, homelessness is still an issue within Franklin County.
As a program of Southeast Healthcare since 2006, Friends has retained its role in the community and maintained the mission and vision that was established in 1983.
Friends of the Homeless Mission
Friends of the Homeless is committed to leadership in providing innovative, high-quality programs, services and housing supports and referrals that enable people in central Ohio to move out of homelessness. Through collaboration, advocacy, education and our work, Friends aims to further the beliefs that:
- Homelessness should be temporary,
- People being served have dignity and worth, and
- Decent, safe, affordable housing should be available for everyone
Friends of Homeless receives funding from the Community Shelter Board and its partner agencies.
How to Access Emergency Shelter
For those seeking shelter, note that there is ONLY ONE WAY to enter a shelter for single adults and families (adults with children) in Franklin County.
CALL 614-274-7000 24/7
Improving the living environment for shelter residents
Friends of the Homeless Renovation Plans
The Friends of the Homeless (FOH), constructed more than 100 years ago, is the oldest shelter in Columbus and has not been fully renovated for many years. Southeast plans to complete several renovations to the FOH men’s shelter, which will improve the living environment for shelter residents, enhance staff workflow, improve security, and maximize the efficient use of space available.
Southeast is currently working to secure funding for these proposed renovations through various sources, including the State of Ohio’s annual capital budget process, congressionally directed spending, and the City of Columbus. If the project receives funding, we anticipate work will begin during the State fiscal year 2025.
When completed, these renovations will improve the shelter’s operation as a safe and orderly environment for residents working to resolve their housing crises. They will also ensure the facility’s longevity so that FOH can continue to serve persons experiencing homelessness in a positive and supportive environment.
Homeless Housing Providers
While Southeast Healthcare does NOT offer permanent housing solutions, we are happy to provide a few potential resources in Central Ohio that do:
PATH-Homeless Outreach Team
Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) is a homeless outreach team that provides follow-up case management to our homeless population and those with serious mental illness within Franklin County, Ohio. Our staff engages vulnerable individuals who are homeless and living in camps, on the streets, and in shelters. They work to build trusting relationships, provide assertive case management and assist with immediate tangible needs. We provide services and referrals such as case management, employment resources, housing resources, outreach, physical healthcare, psychiatric services, and substance abuse treatment. We operate a mobile coach regularly visiting identified sites and locations throughout the community.
Bridge To Success
BRIDGE to SUCCESS bridges men and women suffering from behavioral health issues and are referred from one of the four approved acute care settings (Netcare CSU, TVBH, OSU Harding, or Miles House). We combine transitional housing and supportive services to help residents gain skills that lead to permanent housing for those who would otherwise be homeless upon release from the acute care setting. Bridge to Success is not monitored 24/7, and limited support is provided in the evenings and weekends. Resident partners must be able to provide for themselves, cook, clean, and manage their medications.
Resident partners
Forty-eight Individuals (a combination of 36 men and 12 women, though no co-ed individual units)
- All units offer kitchen appliances and access to laundry facilities
- There is a firm no guest policy
Eligibility criteria
- Single male or female, 18 years of age or older
- Currently residing at TVBH, OSU Harding, Netcare Crisis Stabilization Unit, Riverside Behavioral Health, or Miles House (they will no longer qualify after discharge)
- Self-caring; capable of maintaining independent living and shared living
- No registered sex offenders. (Housing is located within 1,000 feet of a school.) Those convicted of arson are generally not considered.
- Must not have current warrants
Referrals
- Referrals come directly from Community Housing Network
FOH Community Garden
In 2009, community members and Friends of the Homeless created an idea to bring community to the area. The concept was “Growing Green,” a community garden allowing the shelter’s residents, community members, and volunteers to meet, work, and learn about each other. Through gardening, individuals would have the opportunity to interact in a way that extended beyond the traditional role of contributor and benefactor. It would be where individuals could work as equals, regardless of their past and current housing arrangements. Growing Green provides tangible benefits. The garden provides food, and it enhances the beauty of the neighborhood. Growing Green exists through community members’ efforts, ideas, and contributions.
