COHHIO In Your Community - Findings

In early 2024, COHHIO Executive Director Amy Riegel set the goal of organizing community meetings throughout the state to reinvigorate the organization's connection to local residents and to gather feedback about pressing issues and potential policy solutions that could help address the state's broader housing and homelessness crisis.

From March to November, Riegel, Managing Director Douglas Argue and other COHHIO staff achieved the goal of holding a COHHIO In Your Community meeting in all eight of Ohio's metropolitan counties and all 17 of the Ohio Balance of State Continuum of Care regions. Over the course of these 25 gatherings in local government offices, agencies, and libraries, COHHIO leaders heard from 519 attendees, including members, local elected officials, tenants, landlords, homeless and housing services providers, other social services agency staff, educators, and people with lived experience.

Housing Challenges: While most communities had some unique local housing-related problems, there were several common themes that emerged in each community. For example housing shortages and affordability concerns were discussed at every meeting, including:

• a severe lack of affordable housing options, with multi-year waitlists for housing assistance;
• rapid increases in rental rates and concern that skyrocketing property taxes are displacing residents;
• substandard housing conditions, with available rentals are often in poor condition, and limited oversight on repairs.

Another common concern centered around barriers to housing access for three certain populations in particular:

• formerly incarcerated individuals struggle to find housing due to systemic stigma and limited resources;
• seniors and people with disabilities lack accessible and affordable housing, driving a disproportionate increase in the local homeless population, where they often encounter additional barriers accessing emergency shelter;
• young adults aging out of foster care and low-income students are particularly vulnerable to homelessness.

During these meetings, another pattern emerged as community members discussed systemic challenges that hindered their ability to address housing issues, including:

• difficulties navigating complex bureaucratic requirements with housing development programs such as Low Income Housing Tax Credits;
• the aging homeless population is putting a strain on local agencies that are struggling to address increasingly complex healthcare challenges;
• a lack of integration between housing and homeless services agencies and the local healthcare system;
• underutilized resources, like housing vouchers often going unused due to excessive regulations that often deter landlords from participating in these programs;
• staff shortages, high turnover, and recruitment challenges in severely limited social services agencies’ ability to meet high and growing demand for services.

Bright Spots: COHHIO also asked about bright spots that are helping connect people to stable housing in local communities. Some attendees identified community-driven solutions, such as new and increasing partnerships among landlords, community organizations, and local businesses to expand access to affordable housing for youth and other vulnerable populations.

Other success stories focused on rental assistance and services for targeted populations, like the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Services (HUD-VASH) vouchers that help homeless veterans access housing. Other communities experimenting with shared housing models and tenant education and certification programs reported success in bridging gaps for vulnerable groups. Heightened public awareness of the affordable housing crisis also prompted some communities to explore unique funding opportunities, such as grant developing low-barrier shelters and supportive housing projects.

Conclusion: COHHIO’s year of intensive community meetings revealed not only a widespread shortage of housing and services, but also a lack of training and technical assistance resources in many communities to help fill the gaps. In addition, local advocates and providers are often left out of conversations at the state level to address the needs of vulnerable populations, even as new resources like the Ohio Low Income Housing Tax Credit are being implemented.

As a result, COHHIO identified the need to ensure that all Ohioans can benefit from new and existing housing and homelessness resources by serving as a conduit between local communities and the state policy discussion. Furthermore, COHHIO resolved to assist local communities by improving their understanding and access to resources to advance affordable housing development through responsive trainings.

Starting in the late summer of 2025, COHHIO will host several community policy table discussions to advance local understanding of the separate housing challenges and resources surrounding the aging and criminal justice populations. Stay tuned for an event near you…