By Emily Hagedorn
Enquirer contributor

Two local shelters said they are seeing an increase in homeless and working poor women.

A day after Christmas, the Drop-Inn Center in Over-the-Rhine was at capacity for women, with 50 beds full, said Steve Knight, the shelter team coordinator.

"I believe we have never filled up before," he said.

Knight estimated the number of homeless and working poor women who have come into the shelter has jumped 30 percent since last year.

About 6,626 women were homeless in Greater Cincinnati in 2000, according to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless.

The Fairhaven Rescue Mission in Covington has seen this trend.

The mission gave out a record 200 to 250 holiday baskets this season - mostly to women, said Sandra Hammers, director of operations.

It also has seen an increase in women asking for aid such as groceries and clothing, she said.

"They just don't make a living wage," Hammers said of the women who are frequenting the shelter. "People are just struggling."

Families and society haven't created enough "safety nets" to catch people when they fall, said Kay Hoffman, dean of University of Kentucky's College of Social Work.

"I think we are in for some really, really hard times because we didn't plan ahead," she said.

Around 42 percent of the area's homeless women are homeless because they fell behind in rent or couldn't find low-cost housing, according to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Fifteen percent are homeless because of loss of income and 12 percent are due to domestic abuse.

Hoffman said an increase in homeless and working poor women can be traced to the economy and domestic violence.

The rate of domestic violence increases as the stress from the economy hits home, she said.

She said that a lack of education and a lack of an expectation to succeed can also lead to a higher incidence of domestic violence, which in turn, can lead to homelessness.

The increase in homeless and working-poor women will not taper off any time soon, she said.

As many women reach their welfare expiration date (60 months) more will succumb to homelessness and look to charities and kitchens for aid.

"I just think it's a building up of problems," Hoffman said, "lots of unsolved problems in society."