BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio — Despite the rising number of homeless people in Butler County, County Commissioner Cindy Carpenter feels service options are severely lacking.
Carpenter said that's largely due to the county receiving minimal funding from the state.
"I think that this is the biggest crisis that we have in Butler County," Carpenter said.
Carpenter points to state data compiled by the Ohio Balance of State Continuum of Care (BoSCoC). The agency represents 80 rural counties in Ohio, including Butler County.
Numbers show Butler County had more unsheltered and sheltered homeless people than any other county in 2024.
Despite this, Carpenter said Butler County receives significantly less money for homeless services compared to other counties.
"Dayton gets $9 million, Akron gets $8 million," Carpenter said. "We get $1.4 [million]."
Carpenter claims she's tried local solutions, too, such as asking her fellow commissioners to put aside ARPA funds for homeless services.
"The commissioners chose not to send any money toward homelessness of the $74 million that we received," Carpenter said.
We reached out to the other Butler County Commissioners to get more insight about that decision, but haven't heard back yet.
WCPO 9's conversation with Carpenter was sparked from a story we shared earlier this week out of New Miami.
New Miami Mayor Jewel Hensley said, with the frigid temperatures, she suggested opening their town hall as a warming shelter.
Hensley claims her idea was shot down by building employees and village council members.
"They didn't want the homeless in there," Hensley said.
Eventually, she found an alternative but said it wasn't easy.
"Nobody should have to live like that," Hensley said.
Carpenter agreed with Hensley and decided enough was enough.
"We are the second fastest growing county in the state of Ohio, the mathematics make sense that our homeless population is growing," Carpenter said.
She met with members of the Department of Development and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Columbus Thursday, speaking to them about her concerns and suggesting Butler County have its own board that receives and distributes funding for homeless services.
Carpenter said Thursday's conversations went well, and an agreement was made to do just that. She said the county now has to apply to create the board, and she hopes it will start by next year.
