No one wants to think about innocent children being homeless. But homeless kids do exist; I was alone and homeless when I was just 13 years old.

"Prior to coming to Lighthouse, I was homeless. Knowing that I have a place like this, I actually feel like I have someone on my side.... The first time I smiled in a long time was the day I got my apartment." 21-year-old Celeste, a resident of the Lighthouse Sheakley Centr for Youth

Kim Davis said the children she and her husband, Keith, have fostered have required extensive mental and behavioral health services to work through the trauma they had experienced. "All of those services are through Hamilton County," she said. "Without those services, I don't know where we would be. I don't know where the children would be. Emotionally, it would be so much harder for them to heal."

The number of abused and neglected children in our community is on the rise. The number of children served in custody has increased by 41% in only 3 years.

"The staff at Hamilton County Job and Family Services is doing all they can to serve our abused and neglected children," said Paul Haffner, Lighthouse President and CEO. "If we actually give them the funding that they need and deserve, we can do incredible things for our kids."

"If nothing changes, JFS, the agency responsible for placing children in foster care, will run out of money in three years, county financial experts have said. This is the result of an increase in demand coupled with state cuts."

Hamilton County Children's Services helped more than 20,000 kids last year - an increase of almost 20% over 5 years ago. These families are dealing with more trauma, requiring longer, more intensive treatment. You can help. Support Issue 9, the Hamilton County Children's Services Levy. #VoteForChildren

Teams of coordinated outreach workers from Downtown Cincinnati, Inc., Greater Cincinnati Behavior Health, Cincinnati VA Medical Center and Lighthouse Youth Services open a case for a person sleeping on the streets. Files remain open for 90 days, the window of time used to make a count of people experiencing homelessness who are not in a shelter. On Aug. 21 – the day after the homeless camp was disbanded – the 90-day count of people sleeping on the streets stood at 297.

The children of the opioid epidemic, removed from parents who are addicted or found dead from an overdose, are flooding a system mandated to protect them but overwhelmed with their numbers. The number of children in the care of Hamilton County Job and Family Services grew from 2,515 in 2015 to 3,556 in 2017. Our community's children need you.

Right now, there’s a child feeling scared and alone, confused about why they can’t be with their family. It’s a heartbreaking scene that plays out every day in Hamilton County. We can make a difference for them. We can protect them. We can provide a safety net.