Oxford Area Solutions for Housing (OASH) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit group working to take action to respond to and prevent homelessness in the Oxford, Ohio, area. It is led by four board members with expertise in community-based planning, social services, justice work, grant writing, academics and research who provide support, planning, and assistance to the larger group of community members active with OASH.
OASH’s Mission: Taking action to respond to and prevent homelessness
OASH’s Vision: We envision a caring and inclusive community where no one lacks adequate housing
OASH held its first official community meeting in June 2023. The group developed out of a felt need to address and understand what was perceived as a growing population of persons in the community experiencing homelessness. OASH formed as a merger of the Eradicating Systemic Poverty Team of the Oxford Presbyterian Church and the Oxford Homelessness Network, representing the Board of the local non-profit, Oxford Citizens for Peace and Justice.
OASH is organized around the 6 sectors of any community: education, government, faith-based groups, civic and philanthropic organizations, business and economy, and human services, and utilizes a community-based process to develop written action plans for each sector.
Anyone from the public is encouraged to attend monthly meetings and select a “sector” to join based on their skill set or passion. The hope is to develop a coordinated approach among the many community groups already working in a variety of ways to respond to and prevent homelessness. It was felt that everyone needed to be ”rowing our boat in the same direction” in order to be effective.