MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Two recent incidents in downtown Middletown have left one downtown business owner worried about an increase in violence from the city’s homeless population.
Heather Gibson, owner of Triple Moon Coffee Company at 1100 Central Ave., said within the past week, there have been two incidents near her business and she has asked the city to do more for the homeless population.
On June 11, Gibson said a man hit a woman in the face in Governor’s Square. She said both were homeless. A police report said the woman was the aggressor, detailing she had hit the man “six or seven times” before he responded with a hit to her face.
“Customers were coming in screaming, ‘You have to call the cops, you have to call the cops,’” she said. “It was just awful.”
On June 16, Triple Moon workers arrived at work around 6:30 a.m. and witnessed two men fighting near the business’ parking lot.
The suspect was given a disorderly conduct warning and sent on his way, according to the incident report.
Police Chief Earl Nelson said Middletown officers are out every day checking homeless camps and on the unsheltered population in the downtown area, and downtown business owners have those officers’ cell phone numbers.
He said two Middletown officers who worked closely with the homeless population transferred out of the positions, but the department partners with HopeLine, a Southwest Ohio organization committed to supporting those struggling with substance abuse, for community outreach.
Since December 2024, Victoria Hensley of HopeLine and a Middletown police officer have partnered to reach out to those needing help in the homeless population. The outreach team is plans to increase visits to three days a week, Nelson said.
Nelson said this issue is a “focus” for the department, and Gibson’s comments will lead to increased surveillance.
“We have and will continue to help them with any criminal issues that arise in the area,” he said.
Middletown police recently received a $61,000 grant from the 2025 State Violent Crime Reduction funding for 12 additional flock cameras and a flock mobile security trailer.
The flock cameras and trailer will provide increased surveillance, real-time alerts, evidence collection, community awareness and targeted policing.
Gibson spoke at Tuesday’s council meeting to voice her concerns.
“Homelessness is a complex, human issue. It deserves compassion, yes. But what is doesn’t deserve, and what our citizens shouldn’t have to live with, is fear, danger and inaction,” she said.
Gibson said Triple Moon customers and employees have been harassed and followed.
“These aren’t ‘perceptions’ of safety issues. These are real events, happening to real people in our city,” she said.
Gibson called on council to establish immediate emergency shelter options, establish mental health crisis teams that can respond alongside police, clearly enforce laws and ordinances and produce a real strategy with timelines and accountability. She said tearing down homeless encampments is not the answer.
“We are not anti-homeless. We are anti-neglect. And neglect, of both the unhoused and the housed, is exactly what’s happening,” she said.
Mayor Elizabeth Slamka said she “really appreciated” the email Gibson sent to council the week prior regarding the issue.
“She offered so many solutions, and that is the kind of dialogue I really appreciate,” Slamka said.
In 2021, council voted to spend $25,000 on a six-month pilot program in hopes of reducing homelessness in Middletown, particularly in downtown where investors had complained about the issue and its negative impact on business.
In January, the Middletown Health Department and Serving the Homeless with Alternative Lodging of Middletown (SHALOM) hosted the city’s homeless population at eight local churches for nine weeks.
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