The shelter that houses primarily men was purchased by the Family Abuse Shelter of Miami County, Inc., in 2009 to complement the organization’s Franklin House program for women and children, also in Troy.
The Buckeye House received exterior repairs in 2016 thanks to money from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. The required matching funds for the project came from the city of Troy’s Community Development Block Grant.
The shelter utilized those same grants to improve the building it owns at 121 Public Square Northeast. That building houses a business on the first floor and apartments used by shelter programs on the upper floors.
The Buckeye House project included stucco repairs, painting, soffits, screens, gutters and new windowsills for a $55,398 project, said architect Patrick Hansford. The stucco, previously white, this time received some color, said Barb Holman, Family Abuse Shelter director.
“With all of our buildings, I always try to make sure they are functional and meet our needs, but then they also are respectful of the community,” Holman said. “That we enhance the community is something I think is very important.”
The Buckeye House on average shelters 23 people per month.
In 2015, 154 people stayed there. Four were 62 or older; 24 were ages 51-6; and 17 were veterans. Last year through mid-December, 147 had stayed in the Buckeye House. Of those, six were age 62 and older; 21 were 51-61; 11 were veterans; and five were families with children staying in the handicap room.
The room has become more valuable as the shelters see more families as well as more aging veterans with health concerns, Homan said.
The organization is fortunate to have good neighbors at the shelter, she said.
”My mom always wanted a shelter to feel like a home. She said, ‘I want them (residents) to feel like are coming to spend time with an aunt,’ ” said Homan, whose mother the late Barbel Adkins founded the shelter and its Franklin House.
“I don’t think we would be able to do that if we didn’t have the support of the Miami County community that we do,” she said.
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