(bright music) - [Announcer] "Brick by Brick" is made possible thanks to leading support from Greater Cincinnati Foundation, AES Ohio Foundation, and George & Margaret McClane Foundation.

Additional support provided by Laurie Johnston, the Robert & Adele Schiff Family Foundation, Murray & Agnes Seasongood Good Government Foundation, and many more.

We couldn't do this work without you.

Thank you.

(upbeat music) - The challenge of hunger continues to strain our local food banks.

An estimated 100,000 Ohioans have lost food assistance since federal cuts took effect.

- Our area food banks are working hard to support the increasing demand.

Coming up, we'll share how The Foodbank, Inc.

is adapting some innovative fresh food programs.

- [Ann] Plus, the main ingredient in magic mushrooms continues to show promise in the treatment of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and more.

Miami University researchers discovered how to make it more efficiently in a lab.

- Using kind of a biological-based synthesis platform is really cool because it can do that same synthesis, but it can do it faster, it can be more scalable, and it can be more environmentally sustainable.

- [Ann] But first, helping veterans find housing.

- We go on a ride-along with a veteran from Joseph House who attributes the organization for being the reason why he gained sobriety.

And he also says they helped him gain housing, stability, and a newfound purpose.

- I get to go to work every day doing what I love doing, helping other veterans try and get what I got.

I'm content.

I'm happy and content.

- Stay tuned as we investigate housing help for veterans.

Let's get into it.

This is "Brick by Brick: Solutions for a Thriving Community."

(upbeat music continues) Hello, and welcome to "Brick by Brick", where we're highlighting solutions for a thriving community in Southwest Ohio.

I'm your host, Ann Thompson.

Since 2020, the number of unhoused veterans in Ohio has been steadily increasing, up 13% from 2024 to 2025.

In fact, nearly half of states are seeing their numbers go up.

This bucks a decades-long trend of decreasing homelessness among veterans, down 56% nationally since 2010.

The number relies on a yearly count in January that many advocates say isn't accurate because it misses people, for example, who are temporarily staying with friends.

In 2025, that count nationally was 32,000 unhoused veterans.

The Veterans Administration takes additional steps to find homeless vets through outreach street workers and screening at outpatient clinics and hospitals.

It had a big presence at this Hamilton County Veterans Appreciation Day in August where "Brick by Brick" met up with some veterans to ask them about housing.

- It's rough living out here on the streets.

Just stable housing, you know, to wake up in the morning, know what you're gonna do today, be clean, and be able to present yourself for work or what have you.

- I live in an RV.

I own it, so I just live in it on an acre and a half of land in Mount Orab.

- I have a friend that retired and is, you know, looking at building low-cost housing accessible for people, because it's like all you hear about is the mega-million-dollar homes.

And today, it's just kind of like, "I'd like a roof over my head, a place to call home."

- And I really love that the VA lets you know that you are not alone.

- The VA has been very successful at permanently housing veterans, more than 46,000 in 2023.

That was 18,000 more than its goal that year.

The independent nonprofit newsroom Shelterforce reports the VA's work to end veteran homelessness is a nationwide model, and wonders if it can translate to civilians.

The VA coordinates efforts between local, state, and federal agencies that act as safety nets.

And if it can't solve certain problems, supporting agencies step in.

Shelterforce says the government agency has effectively eliminated homelessness for vets in 83 communities, and in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, and Virginia.

In Cincinnati, the VA staff say they are always looking for ways to be better.

- I think we're providing a lot of services that our veterans need and want.

We have expanded in our program to provide not just the traditional case management, but we're providing aquatic therapy and gardening services and photography groups.

- The VA says it's enhancing the services that it already provides by listening to its veteran base.

By 2030, a local umbrella organization, the Hamilton County Veterans Service Commission, wants to connect with 90% of the county's 37,000 veterans.

Since it moved from Downtown Cincinnati to Bond Hill, the number of walk-ins has doubled.

Executive Director Glenn Welling is encouraged.

He's also trying to come up with solutions for homeless vets, estimating that there are 500 of them in Hamilton County.

- We just supported a project called Tiny Homes for Veterans.

Hamilton County Veterans Service committed $20,000 to build that veteran community out in Madisonville.

We work with Talbert House, with Joseph House, all of our partner organizations that help provide temporary housing to our veterans in need.

- We first covered Veterans Village at the end of season two in both our TV show and podcast.

14 tiny rental homes will be built on donated land on the campus of Gaines United Methodist Church in Madisonville.

Organizers have raised most of the $3.5 million needed thanks to Cincinnati's Affordable Housing Fund, tax incremental financing, and private donations.

$150,000 is still required for operating costs.

It took a while for the city's zoning change, and Veterans Village is still waiting for some of the money to build the tiny homes.

It anticipates breaking ground early next year.

The VA is supplying housing vouchers for those who live there, as well as case managers.

In many cases, veterans who are unhoused may also be dealing with other issues, like PTSD and substance abuse.

"Brick by Brick"'s Hernz Laguerre, Jr.

found out that makes the housing journey even harder.

(wind whooshing) - We're headed to the VA hospital for an appointment.

- Yeah, going to the VA.

- [Hernz] Donnie Lionberger works for the homeless veterans care facility Joseph House.

- I'm just a transportation coordinator, certified peer support.

- [Hernz] He didn't start there as an employee.

- I love Joseph House for saving my life, and if I can get through to as many guys I can through any little way I have of doing it, I do that.

- [Hernz] Donnie served in the United States Army from 1977 to 1983.

He suffered from substance abuse and alcoholism for most of his life after he served.

- So, I just finally gave up, started to couch-surf, lost my apartment.

I got tired of starting, I was always starting over because of my addictions.

So, I can relate with all these guys.

- [Hernz] Donnie found himself staying with his niece, who looked up Joseph House and told him to give it a shot.

- She found Joseph House on the internet, called them, checked on it, set it up.

And they called me, and I talked to a Joseph House case manager, and they asked me a bunch of questions, you know?

About five days later, I got a phone call that, "Come such and such date, and we'll put you in the program."

- [Hernz] This Covington, Kentucky native had no idea that what he signed up for was gonna reroute him to a new path.

- They got me sober, clean and sober.

I didn't think it was possible.

It gave me another sense of pride in my fellow veterans that I used to have years ago.

- People are connecting and really helping at a ground level up to get them the services that they need.

- [Hernz] That's Alicia Patterson, executive director of Joseph House.

The nonprofit organization has enough rooms for 58 individuals at a time.

Clients are able to stay there for a year as they receive resources to help them navigate their path towards stability.

- While they're working on some of the issues therapeutically, the other individuals, the case manager and the peer supports, are working with helping them leave here successfully.

So, it's kind of a two-track system, right?

Therapy and helping them to be successful when they leave.

- [Hernz] Alicia says Donnie represents what Joseph House is all about.

- You just never know who's gonna latch on and really succeed, and Donnie came in and just gave it his all.

Seeing his transformation was unbelievable.

He loved it so much that (laughs) he wanted to come back to Joseph House.

He decided that this is his passion, and helping other veterans.

He's been there, he's done that.

He's seen the challenges.

He's walked that walk for them, and so he wanted to come back and continue that important work.

- [Hernz] A part of being at Joseph House is securing housing.

- My home sweet home.

My old Kentucky home.

(laughs) I love it.

- [Hernz] Donnie moved back to his hometown, a full circle moment for him.

- This apartment, this home, back in my hometown where I grew up, it means the world to me.

It keeps me sober, knowing I got a roof over my head and food in the refrigerator.

- [Hernz] And despite the number of homeless veterans decreasing for the better part of a decade, over the past year, the numbers have ticked up.

Nicole Michaelson and Lequita Potter from the Cincinnati VA believe that area resources for veterans in Cincinnati, including Joseph House, can meet that need.

- The economy right now is a little bit challenging.

People are entering homeless quicker.

You know, the numbers we're seeing are manageable, and thankfully, with the visibility of the programs, you know, is it the numbers rising, or because we are really kind of doing a lot of street outreach?

We're really out there, kind of spreading the message, "Hey, we can assist."

- [Hernz] And the Cincinnati VA believes housing is one of those first steps.

- We meet them wherever they are in their process.

So, whether they're at the beginning or in the middle or the end, we are more than honored to provide these services to our veterans and to bring them into stability and a stable home and restore them to the person that they were.

- [Hernz] And when one veteran gets closer to that goal, it's a win for everyone.

- Jason here just got back.

He was here, and then he left and went to a PTSD program.

About to get housed, he's getting ready to go.

- [Hernz] Jason Kenney's one of the clients of Joseph House.

He shares what this part of the journey means to him.

- Well, it feels a bit like relief, you know?

Certainly, coming from where I came from, it's an added bonus, for sure.

- [Hernz] And wins like that remind Donnie about his purpose.

- I get to go to work every day doing what I love doing, helping other veterans try and get what I got and come home in peace and quiet at night.

I'm content.

I'm happy and content.

- [Hernz] For "Brick by Brick", I'm Hernz Laguerre Jr.

- That's that!

(laughs) That's a wrap for that trip.

(wind whooshing) - Thank you, Hernz.

That really gives us a clear picture of what veterans are going through to find housing.

Separately, there are plans for a veterans' village in Clermont County.

It is not associated with the Veterans Village in Madisonville.

The Amelia development includes 19 apartment units for veterans who are either homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

They're subsidized using HUD-VASH vouchers and include supportive services through case managers.

The apartments, green space, and community clubhouse are expected to be finished next fall.

In Dayton, the VA helped house nearly 200 homeless vets in the last year through a variety of transitional and permanent housing resources.

This is about the same number as the year before.

At the annual Stand Down event in October, hundreds of veterans receive much-needed resources.

- So, based on what we know, this program has been very effective.

But we also know that the VA does not touch every veteran in the community.

So, we are very effective in terms of reaching out and housing veterans who we are connected with, those veterans that we are enrolled.

So, by having events such as a Stand Down, it helps us to engage the community in that effort to really bring the community and the VA together to support and really extend the VA's reach to those unconnected veterans.

- [Ann] As of August, the Dayton VA says it is exceeding the national goals for return to homelessness and HUD-VASH housing rates.

Chief of Staff Dr.

Lora Cox-Vance says housing help comes in two ways.

- One is transitional housing, so that is really focused on short-term housing needs for somebody who needs an immediate safe space to live right now.

The other is by working with our community to mobilize long-term, permanent housing needs.

- [Ann] It helped veteran Earl Hayes, and he encourages others to seek assistance.

- They will take you by the hand and take you every, that's what this place done for me, take you every step of the way until you get your own apartment.

- 236 HUD-VASH vouchers are allotted in Greater Dayton, and the Dayton VA has done a good job keeping people housed long-term.

It has maintained an average housing rate of about 92% throughout the year.

The national target is 90%.

Studies show veterans who receive housing at least do better in the short term.

In 2019, a case study in Los Angeles found 17 of 26 veterans who received some type of housing retained it.

However, only three had received a permanent housing solution by the time the study ended.

Data did show once veterans were stably housed, their mental health symptoms, quality of life, and social support improved.

Getting the proper care might be slightly harder now.

The government eliminated 6% of VA staff last year in budget cuts, including thousands of medical personnel.

But a bipartisan bill before Congress proposes to make things better by overhauling the VA system, expanding healthcare, increasing and protecting financial benefits, improving support for families and caregivers, and modernizing claims.

A July vote was delayed and the bill has been sent back to committee.

We'll be following the progress.

Coming up on "Brick by Brick", psychedelics show promise in the treatment of mental health.

Miami University researchers discovered how to make them faster and cheaper in a lab.

(wind whooshing) (upbeat music) (wind whooshing) Clinical trials are underway to study the effects magic mushrooms have on conditions like depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

But what if you could make the main ingredient, psilocybin, more efficiently and without the trip?

Miami University scientists are working on it.

(wind whooshing) Magic mushrooms can rewire the brain, and that's important with an increasing number of conditions.

Miami University researchers are working with bioengineered compounds so the production company that licensed their technology can make the drug faster, less costly, and more environmentally sustainable.

Dr.

Andrew Jones envisions the end product.

- The easiest path would be to kind of put it into some type of pill or capsule.

There are also other options there where you could dissolve it into an injectable or you could have it formulated into kind of a polymer that could dissolve.

- [Ann] The FDA is fast-tracking the approval of the main ingredient in magic mushrooms, psilocybin, for serious mental disorders.

And this summer, the VA announced the launch of a clinical trial for veterans suffering from PTSD.

Despite this, America lags behind.

Miami is one of only a handful of US labs working to jumpstart production, and only Oregon and Colorado have state-regulated programs.

Australia was the first country to recognize psilocybin as a national prescription medicine.

A handful of other countries are headed in the same direction.

Miami licensee Eywa Biotech is headquartered in South America, with plans to start production in Australia.

Back in a Miami University lab, junior Sophia Pyritz is manipulating DNA to make the compounds.

- I think it's really exciting to know that, like, I'm helping something that's still being investigated and has a lot of potential benefits to help people in the future.

- [Ann] By making the main ingredient in magic mushrooms faster and cheaper, senior Siena Madsen hopes everybody has access to it.

- A lot of my focus is on social justice and all of that, and how that ties into all of this.

And so, increased access to mental health treatment for people in need of it is something that speaks to me a lot.

And so, having access to these kinds of life-changing treatments is something I see in the future.

- [Ann] It's complicated, but Miami student scientists are also trying to engineer magic mushrooms without the hallucinogenic trip.

- If we fast-forward 10 years down the road, right, we're gonna have psychedelic-inspired compounds that maybe work through a similar mechanism, but don't have the side effects of a six-hour trip that you would have with psilocybin, and that's gonna make it fit better into people's lives.

It's going to really help people become their kind of true self.

(wind whooshing) - Dr.

Jones believes you're not gonna have a daily dose of an antidepressant to manage your mental health condition.

Instead, he hopes you're gonna have a psychedelic compound that you maybe take once every month or every three months without having the change in personality you often see with antidepressants.

There are limitations, however.

The most obvious one is, psilocybin isn't legal yet.

However, the White House has issued an executive order to accelerate medical treatments for serious mental illness.

The order calls for the FDA to give expedited consideration to psychedelics that meet specific criteria.

Once they're approved, another thing that may make it hard is the cost.

Dr.

Jones says his lab is working towards psilocybin without the trip because it might be administered as an outpatient or at home, so patients don't need a psychiatrist in the office for six hours.

All things to consider.

"Brick by Brick" will continue to follow this story.

(upbeat music) (wind whooshing) (upbeat music continues) (wind whooshing) Food insecurity, hunger, is a topic we've covered multiple times here on "Brick by Brick".

Unfortunately, people are still suffering, and the number who need assistance continues to grow.

In Ohio, 100,000 of our neighbors lost benefits to the Federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, in this last year.

How are food banks coping?

"Brick by Brick"'s Emiko Moore has been looking into it.

She's here with an update.

Emiko?

- Thanks, Ann.

In Ohio, many families are facing difficult choices every day.

Over half of those who visit food banks skip meals to make ends meet, and a whopping 60% have to choose between paying their utilities or buying groceries, according to the 2026 study by the Ohio Association of Food Banks.

The Foodbank, Inc.

in Dayton, which serves Montgomery, Green, and Preble County, is operating on overdrive.

In September, workers and volunteers held their largest event this year at the UD Arena.

- This distribution, we served close to 2,000 families, which equaled out to be about 6,000 individuals, so it was a really good picture of how great the need is in our areas.

- And in a past episode, we told you about an upcoming community resource center.

Well, in June, they celebrated both the center's opening and their 50th anniversary.

- [Amber] We're grateful for the extra space that it provided, because our warehouse has done a phenomenal job at helping us store and distribute food, but it did not provide a good meeting space for us to talk to the community, host events, and host listening sessions.

- The center has a commercial kitchen, two turnkey medical exam rooms, and the first food bank in the nation to have an onsite probation office to help with their robust re-entry workforce development program.

- Currently, almost half of our staff has been previously involved with the criminal justice system, and a lot of the people that we hire on come with reporting requirements where they have to see a probation officer several times a week.

And that requirement to stay in compliance can be really cumbersome for somebody who is also trying to get to a job and take care of other life services.

- To bring more fresh produce to families, a public food forest is in the works to be planted right on The Foodbank, Inc.

properties.

- Part of the agroforestry grant that we got in partnership with Central State is allowing us to plant food-bearing trees outside of the gated area on our property.

A lot of people might know that we have an urban garden space, and it's within a fence because we have a lot of heavy equipment and things, but we wanted it to be publicly accessible for anybody in the area that might be walking by that might be hungry.

- And the garden team is hosting classes on edible landscaping so more can grow groceries in their own yard and indoors, too.

- Oh, no, edible landscaping can be incorporated in any yard, to any degree.

- In October, federal support for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, was cut in half.

According to Cincinnati's Freestore Foodbank, this doesn't automatically reduce a family's SNAP benefits, but could have major consequences for programming operations, such as maintaining staff or processing applications.

The Freestore Foodbank, which provides 47 million meals each year in 20 counties in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, have expanded their summer meals program and community food distributions to address the growing need.

Obviously, hunger is a chronic problem, and we will continue to follow the response as it evolves.

Back to you, Ann.

- Thanks, Emiko, we appreciate the update.

If you want additional details about veterans' housing, magic mushrooms, and more, head to our show page at cetconnect.org or thinktv.org, where you'll find web articles, videos, and extras.

We'd also like you to weigh in with your story ideas by clicking the big green button.

(wind whooshing) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (wind whooshing) It's time to talk takeaways on housing for veterans, magic mushrooms, and food insecurity.

And before we dive in, Emiko and Hernz, we just wanna thank veterans for their service.

We really appreciate it.

- Sure.

- Hernz, let's start with you and veterans' housing.

- Yeah, you know, you already mentioned it early in the show, but we have seen a decrease in homeless veterans for the better part of the past decade.

But there has been an increase this past year, including the area that we're in.

And I think it's important to note that, you know, Alicia Patterson from Joseph House, she says, "It could be because of many reasons, whether it's the economy or the recent military engagement overseas."

You know, at the time of this taping, we're still at war with Iran, so if that continues, there may still be a direct connection, there.

But the Cincinnati VA, Joseph House, and many other organizations feel well-equipped to tackle this.

I think it's important to note that even Joseph House, they feel proud about their success, that a lot of their veterans find gainful employment and housing after going through their program.

- That's good to hear.

Emiko?

- Yeah, I really like that Joseph House has this kind of communal living where they all share the space, and I think it kind of mimics what military life might be like for them.

You know, and loneliness is a big factor for a lot of veterans.

So, you know, to have a place where you share a meal with other people, you also have a bond.

You know, if you've ever seen the movie "Band of Brothers", you know that there's a specific bond.

And if you can share, in a safe space, some of the stories and the traumas that you've experienced, I think there's a lot of healing, there.

- And because the VA is doing so well in its programs, there's been the question, "Well, what about civilians?

Can they benefit just like veterans?"

Well, as Kevin Finn of Strategies to End Homelessness points out, the VA has money, and that gives veterans more resources for a couple of different kinds of vouchers.

And just imagine, let's say, if all organizations had more money and how many people they could house.

- Yeah, I think it's important to note, though, not all veterans get access to VA care.

If you go to va.gov, you can see the criteria, there.

But yes, you're right.

For those who do get VA care, they do have access to extra resources in order to get housing and, you know, all the things that they need.

- Understood.

Emiko, let's start out by talking about magic mushrooms.

- Sure, I find it really fascinating that this psilocybin can rewire the brain.

I mean, I just have to really think about that, because if you can find new pathways in your brain, the possibilities for kind of treatments are endless, I would think, you know, certainly for mental illness and chronic depression and things like that.

But you know, maybe there's a way that it can help with aging and cognitive decline and other things that we don't know yet.

- Hernz?

- Yeah, I think your story points to the importance of having more funding for research grants and clinical trials in order to see how far we can take this medicine and these new studies.

- And there is an importance of trying to get this medicine to people who maybe are lower income, who couldn't afford what it is, in case you're wondering, the trip makes it more expensive because you have to sit with a psychiatrist for, like, six hours.

So, one of the student scientists at Miami really wants to make it so there's not the trip and it can be available to more people.

Let's switch gears now and talk about food insecurity.

Just, I won't go through all the figures.

They're just staggering, Emiko.

And I was wondering how Ohio is going to pay the additional administrative costs, now that it has to pay, now that there've been cuts with the federal government and they are putting that onus on the various counties, so they'll have to figure out ways to do it.

- Yeah, and a lot of that will affect kind of the staffing and programming in the beginning, so we'll see how that impacts the food banks.

I know that they're expecting to see more people coming to get food there.

Amber Wright with The Foodbank, Inc.

talks about how, you know, they can feed all these people, but we really have to go further upstream to see, you know, what it is that's causing all of this, and you know, more access to food, higher wages, you know, better jobs, those kind of things can help prevent it.

One of the things they're doing, they've got a new community center and they really are huge on listening to the community.

And the community spoke about needing more community gardening, gardening ideas, and they have classes on edible gardening and growing fruit trees in their property so that more people can get access to their fruits.

- Yeah, and that's something that Cincinnati has done also.

Hernz?

- Yeah, I think it's important to note, you know, because of the reconciliation bill, the SNAP benefits were cut dramatically.

But I think about the question of, like, who does that fall on?

And you know, food banks are taking up the lion's share, they're taking the weight.

But I wonder, how long can they sustain that?

'Cause before, you have public and private partnership working together.

And now the entire strain is on them, and I wonder if that's sustainable.

- Yeah, three more topics to add to our list to follow up on.

Thanks, guys.

- No problem.

- That's our show.

Keep the conversation going with a friend or neighbor and let us know what you think by sharing feedback with us via the webpage.

Until next time, for Hernz Laguerre, Jr.

and Emiko Moore, I'm Ann Thompson.

We'll be back soon with more solutions for a thriving community.

Take care.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues)