As pandemic-era federal emergency rental assistance comes to an end, Columbus City Council voted to establish its own program to help those facing housing instability, eviction and homelessness.
Council approved two pieces of legislation that Council President Shannon G. Hardin sponsored during the July 28 meeting, its last before an August recess. One of those ordinances establishes the Columbus Resilient Housing Initiative, which Hardin said is a first-ever emergency rental assistance program for the city.
Council approved reappropriating more than $3 million from the city’s general fund to create the initiative. Money will provide rental and utility assistance, as well as other services, to about 600 eligible Columbus residents.
Hardin said giving money to those struggling to pay for rent and utilities helps “meet families upstream before they become homeless.”
The city found that for every $1 spent on emergency rental assistance to help keep someone in their house, there’s a $4 savings in not having to provide services like shelters, Hardin said.
Since 2021, Columbus has received more than $96 million in federal funding for rental and utility assistance, which has helped more than 32,000 households in that time.
But those funds are about to dry up, as remaining pandemic emergency rental assistance dollars must be spent by a September deadline. Although federal funds are going away, Hardin said the need remains.
“This is part of us keeping our commitment in continuing the work even after those federal dollars are not there anymore,” he said. “The city is stepping up to do this.”
A second ordinance approved by council gave the final $625,400 in federal money to the Tony R. Wells Foundation to provide emergency rental assistance to residents.
The Department of Development will oversee the launch of the Columbus Resilient Housing Initiative starting in September, according to the resolution. It will run through March, when the department will return to council to ask for additional funding.
Higher education reporter Sheridan Hendrix can be reached at shendrix@dispatch.com and on Signal at @sheridan.120. You can follow her on Instagram at @sheridanwrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus sets up emergency rental assistance program as pandemic funds run dry
Reporting by Sheridan Hendrix, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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