At Women of Cincy, we believe that if you can change minds, you change behaviors, and if you change behaviors, you can change systems. The people in this series are strong, innovative, inquisitive humans. They are worthy of love, respect, and the basic human right of safe, affordable housing. They are mothers, fathers, friends, spouses, and hard workers. These are the stories of those experiencing and fighting housing insecurity here in Cincinnati.

“These are not choices. These choices were made for people a long time ago.” These are the stories of those experiencing and fighting housing insecurity here in Cincinnati.

Start talking about housing in Cincinnati – particularly affordable housing – and eventually, someone is going to say, “You should talk to Mary.” These are the stories of those experiencing and fighting housing insecurity here in Cincinnati.

With spare pairs of shoes piled around the office and lists of services covering the walls, we sat down to discuss the importance of Santa Maria’s presence in the community. These are the stories of those experiencing and fighting housing insecurity here in Cincinnati.

What began as a conversation on living and learning in City Gospel Mission’s Women’s Recovery Program quickly became a story of Amanda’s life – a life that began anew four years ago. These are the stories of those experiencing and fighting housing insecurity here in Cincinnati.

“You meet people where they are.” These are the stories of those experiencing and fighting housing insecurity here in Cincinnati.

In the early ’90s, addiction was on the rise in Cincinnati. Early gap analyses showed that resources for women seeking treatment for addiction and mental health was scarce. These are the stories of those experiencing and fighting housing insecurity here in Cincinnati.

A few days a week, Weightless Anchor opens its doors to offer free food, laundry, showers, clothes, and friendships to the women of East Price Hill. On a hot day in July, they also opened their doors to us. These are the stories of those experiencing and fighting housing insecurity here in Cincinnati.

“By the time you start saying, ‘Oh! We have to do something affordable!’ it’s just too late.” These are the stories of those experiencing and fighting housing insecurity here in Cincinnati.

Steph and I somehow get on the subject of how much it sucks when you pour your cereal and there’s no milk in the fridge – now there’s something we can all relate to – before I ask her a little more about herself. These are the stories of those experiencing and fighting housing insecurity here in Cincinnati.

The Cincinnati Public Schools board member has spent the last two decades working to help kids and families living in poverty and facing housing insecurity in the city – as a volunteer and educator, as the executive director of UpSpring, and most recently, as the partnership and policy manager for Cradle Cincinnati. These are the stories of those experiencing and fighting housing insecurity here in Cincinnati.

It’s a Saturday morning at Coffee Emporium in Hyde Park, a sea of ordinary where neither of us would typically be. As I set up for our interview, I glance up, expecting Stevie, the insecure, 19-year-old sophomore I met at the U.C. L.G.B.T.Q. Center; the Stevie I’d insisted celebrate holidays with us and crash on my couch anytime they wanted to.

What if the vacant houses dotting Hamilton County neighborhoods were transformed into affordable housing? Families would have homes that didn’t eat up a majority of their income. Neighborhoods wouldn’t have empty, deteriorating houses. Neighbors would fill in the spaces on the block that were once dark windows and boarded up doors.

Do you ever drive past the homeless, standing on the corner with a “Homeless. Please Help.” sign and wonder how that person got there? These are the stories of those experiencing and fighting housing insecurity here in Cincinnati.