housing
What’s the matter with zoning?
Conversations in Columbus have been brewing for years about an overhaul of the city’s 70-year-old zoning code. City officials are now saying they will likely vote on a large reform package this spring. While zoning, or restriction of land for particular uses, feels as American as apple pie, the institution is only an invention of […]
Turning Point Home offers housing for survivors of human trafficking in Ohio
A new home for human trafficking survivors is opening soon in downtown Columbus. Turning Point Home, located on E. Broad St., can house up to eight women survivors of human trafficking at a time. Cheryl Kirkham, executive director of the Turning Point Home, first got the idea for the house years ago when she was […]
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 […]
More people in Ohio not met with equal housing opportunities
By Robert “Bo” Chilton and Stephen Torsell Columbus has seen boom times recently – at least for some. Population in Columbus has exploded in the last two decades – and it’s not expected to stop anytime soon. Given the enormous investments by Intel and other major companies, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission expects about 726,000 […]
“A great step forward,” Senate’s budget restores proposed affordable housing tax credit program
In a positive turn of events, the Senate’s version of the two-year operating budget restores a new affordable housing tax credit program that was originally nowhere to be seen in the Senate’s proposed budget. The program would attract developers to build low-income housing by making state tax credits accessible to projects receiving federal aid. Ohio […]
“Send this back and do better.’ Advocates criticize Ohio Senate’s version of state budget
Angry. Frustrated. Disappointed. Disturbed. Those were the words various advocates used to describe the Ohio Senate’s version of the budget, which was released last week. “When I first saw a draft of this, it was so bad I thought it was a mistake,” Michael Corey, executive director of the Human Service Chamber of Franklin County […]
Ohio Senate’s budget kills DeWine’s proposed affordable housing tax credit program
The Ohio Senate’s proposed budget axed a new affordable housing tax credit program first introduced by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in his budget. The program would entice developers to construct low-income housing by making state tax credits accessible to projects receiving federal aid, but the Senate killed it. DeWine originally capped the amount of credits […]
Democratic governors pitch federal funds for housing, clean energy
WASHINGTON — Using the recent influx of federal funds to expand state and local clean energy infrastructure, affordable housing and workforce development will pay long-term dividends, a group of Democratic governors and mayors said Wednesday at an event hosted by a prominent liberal think tank. Ahead of the National Governors Association’s winter meeting here this […]
Black families fall further behind on homeownership
This story originally appeared in Stateline, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Some cities and states are trying to boost Black homeownership, which dropped to a 60-year low even before the economic turmoil wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Black homeownership fell in 2019 to 40.6%, down from the 2004 peak of 49.7%. The rate […]
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, […]
Ohio one of few states to skip on eviction moratorium during pandemic
When the new coronavirus emerged, a rush of 43 states and Washington D.C. instituted an eviction moratorium, temporarily blocking landlords from ousting tenants from their housing during a health crisis. Not Ohio. Two recent studies highlight Ohio’s lack of action on evictions as most other states, the U.S. Congress and eventually the CDC moved on […]
Study: Central Ohio housing stabilization project improved health outcomes for women, infants
A new study found that a Columbus project to help maternal and infant birth outcomes should be used more broadly to improve health access and housing. The Health Policy Institute of Ohio was commissioned to study Health Beginning at Home, a project from 2018 to 2021 meant to “test the impact of providing rental assistance […]