A house is the basis for a home. It's the structure inside which our lives unfold; where we nurture our children, face our challenges and celebrate our milestones. For a house to become a home it must be safe, decent, affordable - and available. In Ohio, more affordable housing is badly needed. Last year, approximately 150,000 Ohioans were homeless. More than 40 percent of Ohio renters cannot afford the fair-market rent of a two-bedroom unit; and foreclosures totaled nearly 90,000 in 2009. It was the 14th consecutive year of record breaking foreclosure numbers.

At COHHIO we believe that everybody should have a home, so we advocate on behalf of those who do not. COHHIO supports a range of housing assistance services in Ohio, including homeless prevention, emergency shelters, transitional housing and permanent affordable housing with linkages to supportive services, as needed. Helping hundreds of housing organizations and homeless service providers pursue their missions, COHHIO provides public policy advocacy, training and technical assistance, research and public education.

Since 1994, COHHIO has worked on behalf of every Ohioan in need of a house, in hopes that someday these simple physical structures can become lasting homes filled with life's possibilities