The Housing Now for Homeless Families Program (HNHF) offers grants to local nonprofits that provide temporary financial assistance and supportive services to rehouse families with children that are homeless or at-risk of homelessness. HNHF grants are administered by COHHIO and funded by federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) funding provided by the State of Ohio.
If you and your family are homeless, contact your local homeless services agency.
February Update: COHHIO has awarded HNHF grants to 18 regional homeless services agencies operating across the state:
- HNHF Fact Sheet
- Go to interactive HNHF Coverage Map
Background
For several years COHHIO has been raising the alarm about rapidly escalating homelessness among children and families in Ohio. Nearly one-third of the more than 76,000 Ohioans who need homeless services in one year were children. In recent years, minors have become one of the most rapidly growing segments of Ohio’s homeless population.
In August 2020, the DeWine administration invested $15 million in federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding to provide homeless prevention and rapid rehousing services for families with children. Earlier this year, the administration awarded COHHIO a $1 million grant to pilot the use of TANF for diverting families from emergency shelters. The latest award will allow COHHIO to expand the Housing Now for Homeless Families program to serve approximately 3,500 families who are at-risk or already experiencing homelessness.
The Housing Now for Homeless Families program is designed to utilize federal TANF funds to prevent children and families from becoming homeless and to quickly move homeless families into permanent housing. Local networks that include homeless services agencies, faith-based organizations, community nonprfits, county job and family services offices, and other local groups are already using rapid rehousing and homeless prevention strategies to fight family homelessness, but they lack the resources necessary to address the scale of the problem. Due to restrictions unique to the federal TANF program, these funds are intended to supplement other existing sources of funding for RRH and homeless prevention services.
