For Ciarra Karnes, the elimination of homelessness is a personal crusade.
Karnes, a staff member with the Western Pennsylvania Continuum of Care, was homeless during her youth and through her days as a student at Slippery Rock University.
“People have a preconceived notion of what homelessness looks like, and it may not look like that at all. It could happen to anyone,” said Karnes, whose organization, according to the CoC website, has set the goal of ending homelessness through a coordinated community-based process, with work facilitated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“A lot of our homeless adolescent population is couch-hopping,” said Karnes, a Pittsburgh-area resident. “They do not meet the Department of Housing and Urban Development definition of homeless, but we have found that many of them stay in one place, sleeping on a couch, and every few months they move on.
“They could be couch-hopping with their parents. Sometimes, it is a temporary situation until they can get back on their feet.”
She said there are various ways to become homeless, such as a house fire, and that many people are just “a few paychecks away” from experiencing homelessness.
“This could be anyone’s reality,” Karnes said. “We push it away by saying ‘We’re not that.’
“When we do that, we are missing out on the fact that this is a person. It is someone’s mother, brother or sister, and when more people realize this and show up to help, that is when we start to build a community.”
Karnes, who was raised by her grandmother, said without the help of others she wouldn’t be where she is today.
Her role with CoC is to coordinate with agencies in 20 counties, including Clarion County Human Services and Venango County Human Services.
Efforts include providing access to funding for rapid rehousing, access to and effective use of mainstream programs, and promotion of self-sufficiency.
There is a Youth Action Board, which is composed of youths who refer to themselves as advocates for change.
“These are youths from our 20-county region that come from different backgrounds,” Karnes said. “They have been invaluable because they have had experience with being in that situation. Often, the homeless youths will not talk to an adult but will talk to a peer.”
The four-person board currently has one advocate from Clarion County and two from Warren and Forest counties, according to Karnes. The advocate will confer with a counselor to determine what help is available.
“The same option is not going to work for everyone,” Karnes said. “There are a lot of factors, including age.”
In addition, she said, each school district has a homeless liaison.
“The schools do a great job of identifying the homeless,” Karnes said. “They are mandated reporters. The school districts are also responsible for training their staff on the kinds of homelessness.
“We are always looking for engagement from the community. Building a community is really what changes people’s lives.”
She said many students are homeless because of drug addiction.
Karnes has worked closely with Slippery Rock University on homelessness, and she said there are college students who are “couch-hopping.”
“I would love to work with other universities,” she said. “I think working with higher education helps to break the cycle of generational poverty and homelessness.
“There are a lot of things that can happen to a homeless person, including human trafficking. If you are unaccompanied, you are vulnerable to the predators.”
Every regional CoC is mandated to do a youth focus count.
“We are trying to get a better idea of what homelessness looks like,” Karnes said.
The count, she said, is conducted during three days. This year, it will be April 22-24.
“We are hoping that people from Clarion University or elsewhere would help us make this count the best it can be.”
To become involved with the count in Clarion County, volunteers should contact Jennifer Krouse, of Clarion County Human Services, at (814) 226-6252.