After six years, Kaleidoscope Youth Center said it is closing its housing program for LGBTQ+ youth due to a lack of grant funding that it has received from the Ohio Department of Health in years past.
The Columbus-based nonprofit, which works to support LGBTQ+ youth in Ohio, announced the end of the housing program on Sept. 16, via its website and social media.
The housing program, founded in 2019, served more than 50 young people who were experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity over the years, with a focus on ages 18 to 24.
Right now, 10 young people living in four Columbus apartments will need to find new housing as the program comes to a close, said Amanda Erickson, Kaleidoscope’s senior associate director of Programs and Operations. She is soon to be interim co-executive director when current Executive Director Erin Upchurch leaves the post at the end of December.
The center, located at 603 E. Town St., released a statement saying they are experiencing “great frustration and sadness” about the housing program closure.
The end of the program comes due to funding not being renewed by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), according to Kaleidoscope. In total, KYC said it lost more than $500,000 because of reduced grant funding.
The ODH grant was $241,500, the nonprofit said, which could have covered two full-time staff positions and program expenses.
“Without that grant, we can’t run the program,” Erickson said.
Erickson did not have details on where other support for the program came from, but said other sources of funding have also gone away in the past two years, though she didn’t have the details on why.
The center found out in August that the ODH grant, which had supported the program since 2021, would not be renewed this year, according to the center’s release.
Why isn’t ODH funding Kaleidoscope again?
The Ohio Department of Health said in an emailed response to The Dispatch that previous grant funding doesn’t guarantee future funding. The grant has a two-year cycle, and ODH gave Kaleidoscope $227,247 during the last fiscal cycle that ended on June 30, the statement said.
For the fiscal funding period that started July 1, ODH said it got 18 applications and had $2.2 million to be awarded. The ODH emphasized that the grants are competitive and are awarded to those with the highest scores.
Kaleidoscope had a low score when compared with the grant’s 17 other applicants, and that is why it did not get funding this year, ODH said.
Out of a total of 205 points, Kaleidoscope got 120, or 58.54%, ODH said, adding that it provided details about the grant application denial and the rubric for clarification to the nonprofit on Aug. 19.
Each component of the proposal lacked detail, ODH said, adding that it sent the specifics to Kaleidoscope.
Specifically, there was no local data to show why the population to be served was chosen; steps for implementation weren’t described well enough; there were no details about different initiatives Kaleidoscope has implemented in the past, specific services offered, data, or its strength in working with youth; and the application lacked details about partnerships it has with other agencies beyond listing agency names, according to ODH.
ODH also said it needed more information about how Kaleidoscope reviews data, documents successes and makes changes.
“Overall, this application was missing important key requirements throughout the narrative, making it difficult to understand how each deliverable would be carried out,” ODH said. “Other agencies submitted more complete applications, received higher scores on the competitive grant review, and therefore were awarded funding.”
Erickson also said that ODH’s response to Kaleidoscope regarding the grant was that there were details missing in the organization’s grant application.
“However, from our perspective, all of the questions were answered, and it was the same information that has been provided in previous iterations of the grant application process,” she said.
Does ODH still fund programs helping homeless youth?
The Services for Homelessness Youth and Homeless Pregnant Youth grant program is disbursed by ODH but funded through the Ohio General Revenue fund, according to ODH’s website.
The grant program’s purpose is stated as supporting the work of organizations taking innovative approaches to serving Ohio youth faced with homelessness, according to ODH.
There doesn’t seem to be updated information about the 2025-2026 fiscal year on ODH’s website, but in its statement to The Dispatch, ODH said it continues to fund youth housing programs, including those administered by four Franklin County organizations: the Center for Healthy Families, Huckleberry House, Home For Families, and the Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resource Center.
The funding to support the Kaleidoscope program going forward was to be for the fiscal year starting July 1. Kaleidoscope said ODH did not tell them that they wouldn’t get the expected funding until 45 days after the year began.
“We are now left with a pending deficit and the need to quickly relocate 10 young people without resources, within the next 60 days,” Kaleidoscope’s release said.
The delay was due to the state budget bill, Ohio House Bill 96, containing additional requirements for giving out funds, ODH said.
Kaleidoscope’s release talked about anti-LGBTQ legislation that required the state not distribute funds to youth shelters promoting gender transition. The center stated in its release that ODH asked it — before the center was notified that it did not get the grant — to explain why it should still qualify for funding under the new requirement made by House Bill 96.
Kaleidoscope said it responded that it’s not a youth shelter. ODH confirmed that Kaleidoscope verified that it complied with House Bill 96 requirements.
Kaleidoscope did not state in its release that Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed that part of House Bill 96 earlier this year, stating that homeless services should be open to everyone in Ohio.
Erickson said the center is aware of the veto and that ODH did not attribute the denial of grant funding to the bill in its correspondence, but Kaleidoscope believes the bill may have been a factor in the lack of ODH grant funding.
“We believe the whole socio-political environment we’re in right now has had a huge impact on most of our operations and funding,” she said.
Why is this housing program important for youth?
Kaleidoscope created its housing program in 2019, when it said there were doubts about the necessity of a program that centered on the needs and experiences of LGBTQ+ young people, the center said.
“It’s important for young people to have role models,” Erickson said. “We have an amazing staff at KYC, most of whom identify somewhere on the queer spectrum and who are able to be affirming and empathetic and connect to resources.”
Kaleidoscope stated that about 40% of the homeless youth population is LGBTQ+ and that those youth are 120% more likely to be unhoused than their peers. Some of this may be attributed to parents who won’t accept their new name or pronouns, she said, meaning some may prefer to leave home rather than be in that environment. Some may even have families who ask them to leave when they come out, she said, leaving them unhoused.
“Through a housing program like this we are able to offer a safe space to land for folks; we’re able to offer resources and referrals and really help them become successful young adults out on their own,” Erickson said. “It has been important for us that we’re offering truly trans-affirming resources and services in everything we’re doing.”
The center told those housed through its program on Sept. 8 that they will eventually need to move, according to its post. There isn’t a current date that they must move by, but the soonest would be November. Center staff are working with its youth residents to get them mental health services and support as well as to find new housing.
Kaleidoscope is hoping to continue the program through July, when its final lease ends.
“We are trying to end the program in the most humane way possible,” Erickson said. “We are not putting youth out on the street. … We’re trying to gather all of our resources and get all our ducks in a row so we can do this in a way that prevents increasing the possibility of future homelessness for our youth.”
Kaleidoscope makes a political statement, asks for support
Kaleidoscope also stated that, like other LGBTQ+ organizations nationwide, it has been greatly impacted by the current socio-political climate. As part of its statement on the housing program ending, Kaleidoscope said “this is a movement moment, one that we are all being tasked to meet.”
The statement also said: “When we say elections have consequences, this is what we mean,” after mentioning the lack of affordable housing locally, the underemployment that impacts trans youth and tight city and county budgets due to many people being in need.
“Our youth are scared, and so are we,” the release states. “It is not okay that they are facing the threat of returning to homelessness. And it is not okay that they are having to independently raise money to meet their basic needs.”
Additional funding has been requested from the Franklin County Commissioners, Columbus City Council, many advocates and donors, Kaleidoscope said. Erickson said the hope is to lengthen the amount of time it takes for the program to close to give youth more time to find new housing.
The center also asked if people could offer free or low-cost housing for the impacted youth or sponsor young people for six months by donating about $1,000 per month for furnishings, moving costs and stabilization.
“We don’t have to feel hopeless or helpless, indeed, we can meet this moment together and let our young queer and trans youth know that they are not alone,” the statement continued.
Underserved Communities Reporter Danae King can be reached at dking@dispatch.com or on X at @DanaeKing.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Kaleidoscope Youth Center ends youth housing program, citing lack of state funding
Reporting by Danae King, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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