homelessness
A vast shortage of homeless shelters: Housing insecurity in Ohio’s Appalachian counties
This is the first part of an ongoing series looking at homelessness and housing insecurity in rural Ohio counties. The Adams County Shelter for the Homeless can house up to 17 individuals at a time. But that is only able to shelter a fraction of those facing housing insecurity in the Appalachian county on the […]
LGBTQ+ youth would be put at greater risk of homelessness under Ohio forced outing bill
The Ohio State University campus area is a home many teens choose as they transition to their burgeoning adulthood. For MD Sitzes, it wasn’t a choice. In the late 1990s, Sitzes came out as queer, and with a parent who couldn’t handle the situation, they were forced out and lived on the streets of Columbus. […]
High mortality rate of homeless highlighted in new report
Barb Anderson, director of Haven House in Jeffersonville, Indiana, works with homeless people to place them into housing. It’s a job that has shown her firsthand the severe health issues facing unhoused people in southern Indiana, where many people live in tents in the woods and under bridges. She is currently working with an older […]
As rural homelessness increases, HUD aims money at helping people without access to shelters
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has opened up millions of dollars in funding for groups serving unhoused people in rural areas — an unprecedented move by the agency, say housing advocates. People living in cars, parks, and on the street at night, which the agency labels unsheltered homelessness, has increased across the nation, […]
Bill to help homeless veterans in Ohio suddenly killed by lawmakers for ‘not being needed’
The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. A bill that would help provide funding to ensure every veteran […]
D.C. Dems squabble over expired eviction moratorium. Ohio official says there never really was one
The liberal and moderate wings of the Democratic Party are at odds over President Joe Biden’s decision to allow an eviction moratorium to expire last weekend. The situation reportedly has become so tense, the factions looked headed for a split. By late Tuesday, Biden had announced an order for a continued moratorium in areas hardest […]
Budget measure would undermine affordable housing for hundreds of thousands in Ohio, critics say
Scores of Ohio business and social service organizations are voicing opposition to a move by Senate President Matt Huffman to raise taxes on housing for the state’s poor. A spokesman for Huffman didn’t respond to a request for comment. But a measure that Huffman placed in the state budget would require county auditors to value […]
Housing advocate: Worker crunch due to a lot more than federal supplements
Federal unemployment supplements are not the sole reason Ohio employers are having a hard time finding workers, an Ohio housing advocate said Monday. Gov. Mike DeWine earlier this month announced that on June 26 he would end Ohio’s participation in a federal program that provided $300 a week in additional unemployment pay. The money was […]
With new legislation supporting mental health housing, property tax case gets sent back to state
The Ohio Supreme Court vacated the decision of a state tax board that said tax exemptions shouldn’t apply to a permanent supportive housing facility for low-income individuals seeking mental health and addiction services. The case came to the state’s highest court after the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals reversed a property tax exemption for Hawthorn […]
Homeless students slipping through the cracks during the pandemic, congressional panel told
WASHINGTON — Witnesses before a U.S. House panel on Wednesday advised lawmakers on how federal relief aid can help bridge educational gaps among children who are homeless and in foster care during the pandemic. “While housing is critical, housing alone does not close the educational gap faced by students who have experienced homelessness,” Jennifer Erb-Downward, a […]
Pandemic disparities mirrored pre-existing conditions for low-income families, minorities, report shows
An annual report analyzing how children faired in the nation in the last year showed harrowing effects from COVID-19, but mainly found the same disparities that existed before the pandemic. The study conducted by the advocacy group Children’s Defense Fund, which has a chapter in Ohio, used federal and state data, along with statistics from […]
Columbus schools’ fight for taxes on affordable housing spurs state legislation
Both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly unanimously passed legislation that would exempt providers of affordable housing for people with substance abuse or mental health disorders from property taxes. Senate Bill 57 comes in response to two rulings from the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals. The board recently sided with Columbus City Schools, which argued […]