Columbus Coalition for the Homeless ousts director after six months

On Jan 14, 2023

Angeleila Watkins, center, and Jess Smiley, left, both community health workers with the Columbus Coalition for the Homeless, sort clothes for distribution while at a warming station last year at Broad Street United Methodist Church.

The Columbus Coalition for the Homeless last week terminated the employment of its director, who was hired into the leadership position six months ago, amid what has been characterized as a conflict over operating procedures.

Josh Posten, 32, became the coalition’s director in August, replacing longtime director Keith McCormish, who left the position for another employment opportunity. But coalition board member Jim Rose said the board decided to terminate Posten’s employment Jan. 6.

Rose said Posten’s salary was less than $50,000.

In reference to the termination, Rose alluded to violations of established protocol, including at the coalition’s warming centers, where people who are homeless can come to get out of the cold.

The coalition operates two round-the-clock warming centers — one at Broad Street United Methodist Church, 501 E. Broad St., and another at the former Summit on 16th United Methodist Church, 82 E. 16th Ave. — and provides support to a daytime warming center at Short North Church, 25 W. Fifth Ave.

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Rose said the board became aware that under Posten’s leadership “processes and guardrails that were established with our partners were not being adhered to.”

“I can’t and I won’t go into detail about it, but what I can say is that from the board’s perspective there were some processes that we had put into place that weren’t followed to the level we wanted them followed,” Rose said. “It didn’t line up exactly with the mission statement of the coalition, so we decided it would be the most appropriate time to let him go.”

Reached by The Dispatch on Friday, Posten said he was surprised by his termination, but summed up his ousting as the result of conflicting philosophies in how the coalition was to operate and what its mission would be. Posten said his termination letter referenced compliance issues with the Community Shelter Board, which funnels public and private funds to the coalition and other nonprofit agencies working with the homeless.

“My idea behind this program was to create a safe space for those people to exist, and my board didn’t see it that way,” Posten said. “They wanted to fall in line with how a traditional shelter works.”

Rose said Posten had been employed part-time with the coalition for about a year working at a warming center prior to his becoming director.

“Everything seemed to work well and we were pleased enough with his performance from that and the interview he had with us to allow him to become the director,” Rose said.

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Rose said the board has begun a search for a new director and is not anticipating any interruptions to the services the organization’s warming centers offer. Rather than appoint an interim director, Rose said duties have been divided among him and other board members.

It’s only been within the past year that the coalition began operating warming centers, Rose said. Founded in 1986, the coalition also focuses on education and homeless advocacy and is behind the monthly publication of Street Speech, a newspaper focused on homeless issues.

As for Posten, he said he remains the facility manager at Broad Street United Methodist Church and continues to volunteer his time at other shelters.

“I’ve been doing this my whole life, and my whole goal was to expose the system, see where the gaps were and help fix it,” Posten said. “There’s a large population that they’re different, they’re not easy people to work with, and that doesn’t mean they just need to be sleeping outside.”