Chillicothe — In City Council’s delayed Wednesday regular session, they heard an update on the homeless issue.
Council had debated an “Anti-Camping” ordinance / “Chapter 555” update against camping on public land through the first quarter of this year, to sometimes noisy packed audiences in council chambers.
Council passed it, Mayor Luke Feeney vetoed it, but on May 12th council overrode the veto. A referendum on the ordinance failed to reach the polls.
The ordinance reduced penalties for camping on city land, clarified policies regarding it, but also encouraged sharing information on resources to help the unhoused.
Afterward, council began working on a “five-year plan” on how to look at the homeless issue from a different angle, led by council member Lisa Bennett. On July 20th, she shared the draft vision statement for the subcommittee working on the plan with me:
“The mission of the Community Affairs Committee is to develop suggestions and strategies to assist in the reduction of homelessness suffering in our community.
“We want to foster collaboration with community groups, as well as leaders across the board to find solutions to help those in need immediately as well as, long term goals for prevention, education, and resource accessibility.”
In the December 10th, 2025 council session, Bennett invited council member Greg McKeever to give an update on the city’s interaction with the homeless.
I was unable to catch McKeever to interview him after council, but I did videorecord his briefing (below). He said he had met with the “Ross County Continuum of Care” and Chillicothe Police Captain Michael Short.
After passage of the anti-camping ordinance, McKeever said he was told there have been no citations, but several contacts and referrals to assistance programs as intended by the ordinance.
He said the Continuum of Care will meet in January and will have announcements “to help the homeless community in the area.”
The Ross County Continuum of Care to End Homelessness describes themselves as “a communitywide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness” on their Facebook page.
