Hamilton residents again upset by homeless issue: Here’s how to take action

Hamilton police and leaders of Butler County United Way are asking people who want to help the homeless to donate through their network of agencies, rather than taking food or other things directly to the homeless.

Margaret “Mag” Baker, president and CEO of Butler County United Way, and Police Chief Craig Bucheit said going through United Way agencies allows better coordination of supplies and help those offering services to the homeless keep in better touch with those they’re working to assist.

“To go down to those homeless camps and just give people pizza and food, and that kind of stuff, really is enabling them,” Baker said. “The people in most of these homeless camps have not just homelessness as an issue — there might not be enough affordable housing around, they may have mental-health issues, they have substance-abuse issues.”

The agency created a Homeless Connect portal to help link people to agencies.

Here are agencies that can accept basic-need donations, such as clothing, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant and water. Officials ask that you contact an agency first to learn what items are most needed:

Kathy Becker, a longtime homeless advocate who works for for Access Counseling, said churches and other faith-based organizations also are an important part of the homeless solution.

“I want to make sure we’re inclusive to the faith-based community,” she said. “They’re going to be at the heart of this.”