Despite the outcry from advocates throughout the state, the Ohio House recently passed it’s version of the biennial budget that would effectively eliminate the Ohio Housing Trust Fund – the primary source of state funding for local homelessness and affordable housing programs.

The House’s budget amendment would forfeit State oversight of the OHTF and create great uncertainty for future funding for local housing and homeless services by creating new levels of bureaucracy in each of Ohio’s 88 counties.

Now the biennial budget bill (HB 96) moves to the Ohio Senate. Please take a moment now to call and email members of the Senate Finance Committee and urge them to protect the Ohio Housing Trust Fund! We are asking the legislature to take the time necessary to understand the full implications of this unvetted proposal by removing the House’s amendment and creating a study committee to thoroughly evaluate the OHTF.

The Senate will likely have public testimony on the budget during the weeks of May 5 and May 12 before making their revisions and passing the budget in June. The House and Senate will then have to agree on final changes before sending it to Gov. DeWine by June 30, and the governor can veto provisions he doesn’t like. So please start contacting your senators now!

The key members are: Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon), Senate Finance Chair Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland); Vice Chair Brian Chavez (R-Marietta); and Sen. Andrew Brenner (R-Delaware).

Here are some basic facts to highlight in your communications with legislators. For more specific talking points for homeless services providers, affordable housing developers, and home repair agencies, download here.

  • The State administers the Ohio Housing Trust Fund to maximize resources for housing and homelessness services in every county. Shifting to a county-by-county approach would disrupt services and decrease overall housing resources by reducing the ability to leverage federal and private matching funds.

  • Overhauling the Ohio Housing Trust Fund in thes a drastic change that will lead to greater housing insecurity and homelessness

  • Please take the time necessary to understand the full implications: remove the House’s amendment and create a study committee to thoroughly evaluate the OHTF

Tell your legislator how your agency uses OHTF funds to fight homelessness, keep seniors and Ohioans with disabilities safely housed, and expand affordable housing in their districts. If your agency receives funding from these sources, it likely includes OHTF dollars:

  • Homeless Crisis Response Program (HCRP)
  • Supportive Housing Program
  • Housing Assistance Grant Program (HAGP)
  • Community Housing Impact and Preservation Program (CHIP)
  • Housing Development Assistance Program (HDAP)
  • Resident Services Coordinator Program

See COHHIO’s OHTF web page for more information about how the Housing Trust Fund supports local homelessness, home repair, and affordable housing initiatives in communities throughout Ohio. And please contact Advocacy and Policy Coordinator Elizabeth Marti​ndale if you have any questions about contacting your member, and any updates you may have after speaking with them.

Thank you,

The COHHIO Team