COLUMBUS, Ohio – Calls are intensifying in Ohio to strengthen a key tool in fighting homelessness and housing insecurity. The Ohio Housing Trust Fund provides money to organizations, private developers and others working on affordable housing and homeless programs. The Home Matters to Ohio campaign, which includes more than 300 companies and nonprofit groups, is asking lawmakers to boost the fund by $15 million a year.

Bill Faith, the executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, explains over the past 25 years, nearly 1.8 million Ohioans have been assisted by programs supported by the Fund.

"We've been really able to help reduce the number of homeless people in the state," he said. "And so we just want to keep a good thing going. The trust fund needs more funding even just to stay on par with what we've done in the past."

Governor John Kasich soon will release his two-year budget, which is expected to include spending cuts. But Faith argues the Ohio Housing Trust Fund has a proven track record of success and points out it creates almost $590 million a year in economic activity.

The campaign is drawing support from a broad range of organizations, including faith, education and health advocates.

Mark McDermott, vice president and Ohio market leader with Enterprise Community Partners in Ohio, says that's because the benefits of the fund go far beyond just putting a roof over people's heads.

"We all see that housing is a platform for kids to get a good education, families to be healthy, for children to really have the opportunity to move forward in their lives," he explained. "So those sectors really care about this campaign, too."

In 2016, money from the Ohio Housing Trust Fund was used to connect more than 1,300 families to homeless shelters, repair nearly 1,600 homes owned by seniors or Ohioans with disabilities, and construct or rehabilitate more than 1,500 rental properties.

This collaboration is produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded by the George Gund Foundation.


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Renewal Village, a converted Clarion Inn featuring 215 units of permanent supportive and transitional housing for people experiencing homelessness, has officially opened in Denver's Globeville neighborhood.

Darrell Watson, a Denver city council member, said his family frequently faced housing insecurity while he was growing up and his adult sister died while living on the streets. He emphasized the project, spearheaded by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, is an important step to ensure that more people can exit the cycle of homelessness.

"Oftentimes when you throw out numbers and they feel like simply digits," Watson observed. "But each of those 215 folks to me are the faces of my sister, the faces of many others who are struggling to live in this city."

Per-unit housing costs for converting existing buildings, like hotels, are typically less than half the cost of new construction. Clarion's old bar and cafe are now common areas featuring a coffee lounge and dining room. The old ballroom is now where case managers connect clients to mental and medical health care, substance use treatment, job placement and other services they need to get back on their feet.

Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., said homelessness has long been a top issue for her constituents. She noted the project's strong partnerships, including with the Colorado Division of Housing, Adams County and the city and county of Denver, helped tap $4 million in federal funding to create a new home for families.

"Not just that, and this is the important thing, they'll have a place to call home and they'll have the supportive services that they need to be able to achieve more and more for themselves and their families," DeGette stressed.

Last year, more than 75,000 people received homelessness services in Colorado, recently named the eighth-least-affordable state in the nation.

Mike Johnston, mayor of Denver, said he is committed to creating more opportunities like Renewal Village in coming years.

"When you have traveled a very hard road, you've been on the street or unhoused or been on friend's couches or not sure you would ever find your way back to your own unit, with your own key, and your own space," Johnston outlined. "This offers that new hope again, that sense of renewal."


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Record-high home prices are a top concern for New Hampshire voters and could impact the outcome of this year's gubernatorial race.

All the candidates agree the state's permitting process needs to be streamlined by removing regulatory red tape - but leading Republican candidate Kelly Ayotte could have a conflict of interest.

A recent report shows she is a board member and shareholder with Blackstone, a private equity firm, which critics say has a history of buying properties only to raise prices and force tenants out.

State Sen. Rebecca Perkins-Kwoka - D-Portsmouth - said it's a practice impacting communities statewide.

"You know we do see this corporate investment in single-family homes affecting availability," said Perkins-Kwoka, "not just in homes to buy but also in homes to rent."

She said Democratic candidates Joyce Craig and Cinde Warmington understand the urgency of the housing shortage - and that Craig has a "comprehensive plan" to incentivize construction of affordable, multi-family units.

It's estimated the state will need 90,000 new housing units by 2040 to meet demand.

New Hampshire lawmakers made some progress this year, approving legislation to help convert commercial properties into residential spaces and allow for quicker zoning law changes.

Perkins-Kwoka said she hears from colleges, hospitals, residents, and businesses all struggling with the housing shortage.

"They can't find workers," said Perkins-Kwoka, "there's a definite workforce shortage and it traces right back to people's ability to be located here and find housing in the community."

She said lawmakers don't need to "recreate the wheel" to fix the housing crisis - pointing to the state's successful Housing Champions Program, for example, which directs infrastructure funds to towns that take housing-friendly actions.

She said families, many with school-age children, are being uprooted across the state due to the lack of affordable housing and the next governor will need to tackle the crisis head-on.





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A new report found Hoosier homeowners and renters face significant challenges from environmental hazards and climate change.

"The State of Fair Housing in Indiana" report from the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana, highlighted a growing concern over environmental issues like air pollution, lead exposure and rising water levels, which are disproportionately affecting Black and brown communities and families with children.

Brady Ripperger, deputy director of administration and advocacy at the center, called it environmental racism.

"If you've not heard of that, it's really important to be aware of that as we discuss climate change in our state and ensuring that our formerly redlined communities are not the ones that are the least protected when it comes to environmental disasters," Ripperger asserted.

The report showed many Superfund sites, polluted areas needing extensive cleanup, are in historically redlined neighborhoods, primarily home to communities of color. The areas often suffer from poor air quality, lack of tree coverage and higher heat exposure, particularly in cities like Gary and Indianapolis.

Ripperger pointed out one alarming finding in the report is the effect of regional airports, such as Purdue University Airport, where nearby residents face higher risks of lead-based airborne pollution.

"Regional airports that use smaller aircraft still use lead-based gasoline," Ripperger explained. "We specifically in the report looked at West Lafayette and found that there's a large despair of impact for individuals of color, specifically Asian Americans and Hispanics or Latino residents."

Ripperger argued without action soon, environmental hazards will continue to haunt and harm Hoosiers.

"There're major issues across the country in housing stock," Ripperger outlined. "There might be more prevalence in locations to Superfund sites or brownfield sites, there might be lack of tree coverage which is so important as the environment is getting hotter and hotter, and then there're also issues such as air quality."


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