When Fort Dodge residents refer to homeless people, they often envision single men living on the street or in a shelter with a substance abuse problem or mental illness. However, local experts note that such views are based on stereotypical overgeneralizations of homeless people.

Randy Kuhlman, chief executive officer of the Fort Dodge Community Foundation and United Way, for example, said that many people become homeless because of a limited supply of affordable housing, aging housing stock, high rental costs, rising food costs, low wages, cutbacks in government benefits, and other problems fueling home eviction rates.

Even though some individuals have become homeless due to substance abuse or mental health issues, many families with children have become homeless for other reasons.

“Family homelessness in the U.S., in Iowa and in Fort Dodge is on the rise at an alarming rate,” he said. “Sadly, these are families with children, and most of them are single-parent families.”

Kuhlman said that homelessness is basically a two-fold issue involving the “obvious” homeless people living on the street or in shelters, and the “hidden” homeless people who are temporarily staying with friends, relatives, or acquaintances. They are basically “couch hopping” from place to place, or living out of their cars, without a permanent residence.

Many of these hidden homeless people are single-parent families, most often headed by single mothers with children.

“They make up the largest group of people who are homeless, and this number is increasing,” he said. “Families with children comprise around 61 percent of the total homeless population in Iowa.”

The hidden homeless problem often overlaps with problems of sexual abuse because of the desperate situations in which single women often find themselves.

“When a single mom is couch-hopping, the rate of sexual abuse increases,” he said. “It’s a double whammy.”

Kuhlman explains that the United Way is focused on helping homeless families, especially children.

“When children couch-hop, they tend to miss a lot of school days,” he said. “In emergency situations, we provide assistance to families so they can stay temporarily in a safe hotel. And we call the school to make sure the school bus picks up the kids at that address.”

One of the major problems fueling homelessness among families has been a rapid escalation in rent costs.

“Iowa ranks among the top 10 states in highest rental rate increases,” Kuhlman said. “Rents have been on the rise in Iowa in recent years, but wages have remained stagnant.”

This problem is exacerbated by the fact that Fort Dodge and many other cities in Iowa have a shortage of affordable housing, he explained. And much of the existing housing structures are aging and in need of major repairs and renovations.

Kuhlman notes that his office also intervenes to help families that are on the verge of homelessness. The United Way often assists families in finding an affordable apartment, for example.

“Ninety percent of the people we help have already received their eviction notices, but haven’t yet been evicted,” he said. “We help them cover their rent, so that they don’t get evicted.”

The local United Way provides emergency support for families who are at high risk of becoming homeless. The organization reports that one in five children in Fort Dodge are living in households that are at high risk of homelessness; that is to say, they are only one unpaid rent bill from eviction.

In addition to rent payment arrears, delinquent utility bills also often lead to homelessness for families with children.

“Many of these families, pay their rent, but can’t pay their water bill, which is why we also provide water bill assistance,” he said. “There is a federal grant for funding power and electricity, but there’s no such thing for water bill assistance.”

Kulman notes that the local United Way assisted 120 local families, including 465 children, in 2025. More than half of these families received financial assistance for either their rent or water bills. In the past year, his agency has invested more than $100,000 to assist such families.

Many families in the Fort Dodge area face eviction notices after a two-income earner family is suddenly left with only one provider, he said. This can happen, for example, when one spouse dies unexpectedly, or is laid off from their job. or is in between jobs. For a temporary period of time, they are unable to pay their bills, which can lead to eviction.

Another major reason why local families face possible eviction is because of unexpected medical bills.

“One medical problem can force a person to miss work,” he said. “If they have a low-income job or part-time job, they often lack health insurance and other benefits. And if they don’t show up for work, they might not get paid.”

“Many people in Fort Dodge are working paycheck to paycheck, which means that one family crisis can lead to an eviction notice,” Kuhlman said.

At the “community conversation on homelessness,” held at the First United Methodist Church on Thursday night, the discussion briefly turned to single women with children who are homeless in Fort Dodge.

The panel discussion, moderated by United Methodist Youth Pastor Adyson Schanz, focused primarily on the more “obvious” homelessness population, especially in downtown Fort Dodge. However, one question dealt with the lack of shelter space for homeless families with children.

In response, Brian Bidleman, executive director of the Beacon of Hope, observed that homelessness has been on a tremendous rise nationwide, averaging an annual 20 percent increase, since the COVID pandemic ended.

“And the fastest growing group of the homelessness in the United States currently is women with children,” he said.

Bidleman explained that local services for women in Fort Dodge have changed over the past few decades.

“The YWCA, for example, does an excellent job of hosting women and children, but they are there specifically for addiction treatment,” he said. “The Domestic/Sexual Assault Outreach Center (D/SAOC) cannot house as many families, due to funding and staffing issues.”

There is currently only one women’s homeless shelter in the Fort Dodge area, Lotus Community Project, but it is located eight miles from the city.

“And even with Lotus, our community is still short on beds for women and children,” he said.

Bidleman announced that the Beacon of Hope board has decided to purchase a new building that will become a future homeless shelter for women and children. The shelter will be located away from downtown, and will contain 24 individual units with locking doors.

“The next step is fundraising,” he said. “It’s going to take us a good year to raise enough money. This is the next step for Beacon of Hope Ministries, to open a shelter for women and children.”