Relocation Information

Learn about City Gospel Mission’s relocation and new, state-of-the-art facilities, including the latest news and important messages for our donors and volunteers. We appreciate the Greater Cincinnati community’s ongoing support during this exciting time of transition.

The Cincinnati Enquirer: 'Plan moving forward’

Soapbox Cincinnati: 'Project builds facility, new chances'

"City Gospel Mission doesn’t just do the Lord’s work, it does the City and community’s work. We truly value the partnership we have formed with City Gospel Mission."
— Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls

Facts & Figures

Homelessness, Poverty, and Education in Cincinnati

• Cincinnati’s childhood poverty rate is the third highest in our nation, behind only Detroit and Cleveland. A devastating 48% of Cincinnati’s children live in poverty.¹
• Cincinnati ranks 7th in a list of cities with the highest percentage of total residents living in poverty (25.1%)²
• Nearly 7,000 people are homeless in Cincinnati³
• 32% of Cincinnati’s homeless are children³
• Men comprise 42% of the homeless population³
• Women comprise 26% of the homeless population³
• 12% of the homeless population is veterans³
• 42% of Cincinnati's homeless suffer from mental illness³
• 40% of the homeless have an alcohol dependency³
• 39% of the homeless have a drug dependency³
• 19% of the homeless have a physical or cognitive disability³
• Almost 1 in 4 children under 5 in Ohio live in a state of hunger or are at risk of hunger⁴
• 26% of 6th graders in Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) are not proficient in reading. 35% are not proficient in math. ⁵
• 18% of all students in CPS do not graduate from high school.⁵ Dropouts are more likely to work at lower-paying jobs — or have no jobs at all. They're also more likely to break the law.⁶
• Eighteen local school districts have dropout rates higher than the national average. Four of these districts with rates higher than the national average more than doubled in the past five years.

Mentoring Matters

Research confirms what we already knew anecdotally or intuitively — that mentoring works.

Mentored youth are⁷:
46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs
27% less likely to begin using alcohol
52% less likely to skip school
33% less likely to engage in acts of violence

Mentored youth are also more likely to have greater self-esteem, have confidence in their schoolwork, get along better with their friends and families, and attend college⁷.

City Gospel Mission...

• Serves more than 3,300 men and women each year
• Serves more than 8,000 at-risk children each year
• Provides nearly 28,000 nights of shelter to people in need each year
• Has over 2,200 caring volunteers
• Serves nearly 116,000 hot, nutritious meals each year
• Has 7 innovative, relationship-based programs for at-risk kids
• Provides long-term residential recovery programs for men and women
• Has been open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year since 1924
• Offers Medical screening and HIV testing to guests
• Offers children three key factors to break the cycle of poverty in their lives: education, a relationship with a caring adult, and a relationship with Jesus
• Has 115 beds for emergency and transitional housing

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Key Sources:
¹ The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP), October 11, 2011
² U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2011
³ Cincinnati/Hamilton County Continuum of Care for the Homeless, 2010 Data Report
⁴ Child Food Insecurity in the United States, 2005-2007
⁵ Ohio Department of Education, CPS 2010-2011 Report Card
⁶ Income, Earnings, and Poverty Data, 2008 American Community Survey
⁷ Mentoring: A Promising Strategy for Youth Development. Washington: Child Trends