Ohio communities across the state have placed bans on sleeping outside , making unsheltered homelessness illegal. Newark, in Licking County, was one of the first towns to institute an encampment ban last fall.

At that time, the city promised to come up with a system to help connect those charged with the misdemeanor crime to permanent housing. City leaders said they wanted to develop a diversion program within Licking County’s court system that would offer pathways to housing, counseling and medical services.

In May, Licking County launched its Housing Opportunities Through Municipal Engagement, or HOME Court, to do exactly that.

“The things they asked me to do were things I needed to do, and things that were to my benefit,” said Bobby Kelley, the first person to go through the

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