Columbus, Franklin County receiving millions for housing for homeless

Columbus will be receiving $16.4 million and Franklin County $3.16 million toward affordable housing and services for homeless people, part of a total $204 million in federal money the state of Ohio and its local governments will be receiving overall.

“That’s a good amount,” said Bill Faith, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio. “This is a boost to the normal effort we get from the federal budget.”

The money comes from $5 billion in money from the American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, being distributed through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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The city receiving the most in Ohio is Cleveland with $17.7 million. Cincinnati is receiving $9.9 million. The state of Ohio itself is receiving $91 million.

According to HUD, the money can be used for affordable housing, rental assistance, supportive services, and acquisition and development of non-congregate shelter units in buildings such as hotels so residents could be separated or quarantined as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Funds must be spent by 2030.

Faith said he sees that the money could be used in different ways, from developing long-term housing options to creating permanent supportive housing to converting hotels into housing for homeless people.

“Not just any affordable housing — the type of thing we wanted to see,” Faith said. “We want people to look beyond shelters, longer-term solutions.”

Michelle Heritage, executive director of the Community Shelter Board, said the money should be used to build permanent housing for homeless people. She said the Columbus area lost about 20,000 units in recent years for the poorest residents because rents went up to levels they can’t afford.

Heritage said incomes, if any, for most homeless people are less than 30% of the area median income, which in 2021 was $17,650 for one person and $26,500 for a family of four.

“These dollars should be to replace units where they got priced out,” she said.

When asked how far $16 million could go in Columbus, Heritage said, “That can do a lot of good. We could bring hundreds of units on.”

Carlie Boos, executive director of the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio, rhetorically asked of the federal funds, “Is this going to be what we need to cure the housing crisis? No.”

But Boos called it a great down payment. 

The local money will flow through Columbus and Franklin County. Cynthia Rickman, a spokeswoman for the Columbus Department of Development, said the city is working through the details as to how the money will be used, and developing a plan with homeless organizations and others.