Sabrina Shattles, new Board Chair of Strategies to End Homelessness, on inspiring change

580,466 people experienced homelessness in the United States on a single night in 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report. Homelessness has been a growing crisis in our country, even before the pandemic. And Greater Cincinnati is no exception.

Driven by a passion to help remove the barriers and challenges that can cause homelessness in the Greater Cincinnati community, Sabrina Shattles, President and Chief Creative Officer of Shattles Communications, has been named Chair of the Board of Directors for Strategies to End Homelessness (STEH).

As she begins her board role, I had a chance to ask Sabrina about the services and value STEH brings to our local community as well as what inspires her about the organization.

1) How does Strategies to End Homelessness help our community?

Sabrina Shattles: Strategies to End Homelessness (STEH) leads a coordinated community effort with the goal of ending homelessness in Greater Cincinnati. We envision a community in which everyone has a stable home and the resources needed to maintain it.

We work in partnership with more than 30 non-profit organizations to coordinate a centralized emergency shelter hotline, homelessness prevention, street outreach, emergency shelter and provide housing solutions.

While there are nearly 400 federally-funded homeless services systems in the U.S., STEH is one of only 14 to be named a Unified Funding Agency by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This reflects the effectiveness of the work we’re doing in the Greater Cincinnati area.

2) How long have you been involved with Strategies to End Homelessness?

I joined the board of Strategies to End Homelessness 10 years ago. I’ve held a variety of positions including Chair of the Communications Committee, Co-Chair of the Communications and Development Committee, and Chair of the Governance Committee.

3) What inspired you to volunteer with Strategies to End Homelessness?

I was in the same Leadership Cincinnati Class (Class 35) as Kevin Finn, President and CEO of Strategies to End Homelessness. I was intrigued and inspired by not only Kevin’s passion for solving homelessness, but his belief that if we bring to the table leaders from all aspects of our community, then we can find solutions.

On a personal level, I had also recently lost my brother to an opiate overdose. Over the 10 years that my brother struggled with addiction, I saw how life challenges could quickly change someone’s housing situation. While my brother was never homeless, I learned that any person could face homelessness.

It’s a common misunderstanding to assume that people experiencing homelessness are also experiencing addiction. There is a complex relationship between addiction and homelessness—including questions about what comes first? We probably all know many people, even very successful people, who are addicted to alcohol and drugs and never become homeless.

A big reason for homelessness is lack of affordable housing. But there are many factors that contribute to homelessness.

4) Why do you feel the work of Strategies to End Homelessness is so important?

Strategies to End Homelessness looks at homelessness from a systems standpoint—taking a bird’s-eye view of our community’s needs and coordinating the resources available to meet those needs.

We work to help ensure that the system as a whole is effective, complete and making the most of available resources. One of our former board chairs used to say that before Strategies to End Homelessness existed, the organizations addressing homelessness were like an octopus without a head. Strategies to End Homelessness is the head of the octopus.

Having an organization like Strategies to End Homelessness has enabled our community to come up with innovative and coordinated ways to address homelessness.

5) As you start your role as Chair of the Board of Directors for Strategies to End Homelessness, do you have plans or goals for the organization?

One of the areas that we are looking at is what role can we play to help address affordable housing. The solution is multifaceted, requiring local, state and federal governments, the business community, developers, not-for-profit organizations, neighborhood organizations, faith-based organizations, landlords, volunteers and more to combine their efforts and resources to make a difference.

We’re excited to see how we can work with these groups to make housing more affordable and help prevent homelessness.

6) How can others help support Strategies to End Homelessness? How can people volunteer, donate or get move involved?

Three things: Learn, donate and volunteer. There are many misunderstandings about homelessness. You can become more educated by going to the STEH website and read Home, our biennial progress report, or sign up for our quarterly newsletter. Another way to make a difference is by volunteering with one of our partner agencies that work directly with people experiencing homelessness. Finally, you can donate on the STEH website. Every dollar makes a difference.