Congress and the White House are currently working on the Biden Administration’s infrastructure proposal, which calls for a $213 billion investment in housing. This proposed legislation presents a tremendous opportunity to significantly reduce the affordable housing gap.
In early May, COHHIO sent a letter signed by 105 Ohio-based companies and organizations asking Ohio’s Congressional Delegation to target federal housing resources in the American Jobs Plan to the people who need help the most – extremely low income renters.
The administration’s infrastructure proposal is a good start, but it leaves many of the details up to Congress. COHHIO is working with the National Low Income Housing Coalition to ensure that adequate funding for effective affordable housing programs get included in the final legislation. If you weren’t able to sign COHHIO’s letter, you can still add your organization to a similar letter organized by NLIHC.
If you’re not in a position to speak for your organization, I encourage you to personally email your members of Congress to ask them to support affordable housing investments in the infrastructure bill. You’re welcome to cut and paste language from the sign-on letter into your email.
Dear Member of Ohio’s Congressional Delegation,
Too many Ohioans are struggling to afford a place to call home. Only 42 rental units are affordable and available for every 100 extremely low-income households in Ohio. The affordable housing shortage hits low-income people the hardest, particularly the 436,000 Ohio households earning 30% or less of area median income, who are disproportionately African-Americans.
That’s why we are pleased that the White House’s proposed infrastructure plan calls for significant housing investments. This legislation represents a rare opportunity to dramatically expand access to affordable housing, particularly for the people who need it the most.
To achieve this goal, we, the undersigned organizations, respectfully request your support for including the following three priorities in Congress’s infrastructure bill to expand housing opportunities to the lowest-income Americans.
- Significantly expand access to the Housing Choice Voucher program. Currently fewer than one in four households who qualify for assistance actually receive it. Taking steps to reduce the voucher shortage is the most immediate, direct way to tackle the affordable housing shortage.
- Repair, rebuild, and retrofit the public housing system to create safe, adequate homes for low-income seniors, families with children, and people with disabilities. We support the $70 billion investment in public housing as proposed.
- Expand the National Housing Trust Fund to develop, preserve, and rehabilitate affordable units for extremely low-income Americans. We support the proposed $45 billion/year investment.
Targeting federal investment in Housing Choice Vouchers, public housing, and the National Housing Trust Fund will begin the process of reversing the growing shortage of affordable housing. We respectfully encourage you to consider these recommendations as minimum housing investments that will help ensure the infrastructure package delivers broad and equitable benefits to all Americans.
Sincerely,
Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio
Advocates for Ohio’s Future
Equitas Health
Finance Fund
Freshwater Future
Greater Ohio Policy Center
Habitat for Humanity of Ohio
LeadingAge Ohio
League of Women Voters of Ohio
Mount Carmel Health System
NAACP Ohio
National Church Residences
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
NeighborWorks Collaborative of Ohio
Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing
Ohio CDC Association
Ohio Conference of Community Development, Inc.
Ohio Domestic Violence Network
Ohio Poverty Law Center
Local Organizations and Officials
614 Youth Prevention Agency LLC, Columbus
Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc., Toledo
Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio
Affordable Housing Trust for Columbus and Franklin County
Akron Leadership Foundation
Aldridge Palay Group, Westerville
Alliance for Children and Families Inc., Alliance
Appleseed Community Mental Health Center, Inc., Ashland
ARC Shelter of Warren County, Lebanon
Arch City Development, Columbus
Barbara Poppe and Associates, Columbus
Bethany House Services, Cincinnati
Better Together Toledo
Caracole, Inc., Cincinnati
Central Community House, Columbus
Cherry Street Mission Ministries, Toledo
Cincinnati Development Fund, Cincinnati
City of Springfield
Columbus Compact dba Columbus Empowerment Corp.
Community Action Commission of Fayette County, Washington Court House
Community Action Commission of Pike County
Community Housing Network, Columbus
Community Housing Solutions, Cleveland
Community Shelter Board, Columbus
Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization, Cleveland
EDEN Inc., Cleveland
Fair Housing Resource Center, Inc., Newbury
Famicos Foundation, Cleveland
Findlay Hope House for the Homeless
Forbes House, Painesville
Freedom a la Cart, Columbus
Gallia Meigs Community Action Agency, Cheshire
Great Lakes Community Action Partnership, Fremont
Habitat for Humanity of Mahoning Valley
Habitat for Humanity-MidOhio, Columbus
Highland County Homeless Shelter, Hillsboro
Home Is The (HIT) Foundation, Eaton
Homeport, Columbus
Homes on the Hill CDC, Columbus
Humility of Mary Housing, Cuyahoga Falls
Integrated Services for Behavioral Health, Nelsonville
Jurisdiction-Wide Resident Advisory Board, Cincinnati
Kings Local Food Pantry, South Lebanon
LakewoodAlive, Lakewood
Leading Families Home, Toledo
Licking County Coalition for Housing
Lincoln Gardens Apartments, Columbus
Lowenstein Development, LLC, Columbus
Lukens Solutions, Columbus
Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, Cleveland
Lutheran Social Services, Worthington
Mahoning County Land Bank, Youngstown
Make-A-Day Foundation, Columbus
NAMI Greater Toledo, Toledo
NAMI Wood County, Bowling Green
Nazareth Housing Development Corp., Columbus
Neighborhood Housing Partnership of Greater Springfield
New Home Development, Bryan
New Housing Ohio, Cincinnati
Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, Cleveland
Northwestern Ohio Community Action Commission, Defiance
OneEighty, Wooster
Over-the-Rhine Community Housing, Cincinnati
PIRHL, Lakewood
Primary Health One, Columbus
Regionomics, Columbus
Renter Mentor, Columbus
Resident Resources Network, New Albany
Siemer Institute, Columbus
Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland
St. Paul’s Community Center, Toledo
Strategic Opportunities, Bexley
Strategies to End Homelessness, Cincinnati
Taskforce of Greater Cleveland
Tender Mercies Inc., Cincinnati
The Center for Disability Empowerment, Columbus
The Haven of Portage County, Ravenna
The Main Place, Newark
Toledo Fair Housing Center
Toledo Lucas County Homelessness Board
Tuscarawas Metropolitan Housing Authority
United Way Toledo
Wallick Communities, Columbus
Wood County Department of Job and Family Services
YWCA Columbus
YWCA Greater Cincinnati
