skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, March 18, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Report: Many Poor Ohioans Lack Safe, Affordable Place to Call Home

play audio
Play

Monday, March 18, 2019   

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Housing is a foundation for living, and a new report suggests it's an unstable foundation for hundreds of thousands of Ohioans.

"The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Rental Homes" by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, finds that 67 percent of the state's extremely low-income renter households are spending more than half their income on rent.

Bill Faith, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, explains that's more than 290,000 families that have to make difficult decisions in order to keep a roof over their heads.

"So that just means for those folks that other needs of the household are going to go wanting,” he states. “Whether or not they have enough food to eat, gas money to put into the car, health care costs and things of that nature."

The coalition considers people "extremely low-income" if they make only 30 percent of their area's median income, and in Ohio, only 43 rental units are available and affordable for every 100 of these households.

Gov. Mike DeWine is calling for increased investments for affordable housing, and his budget proposes increasing funding for the Ohio Housing Finance Agency by 4.5 percent over the next two years.

Faith commends DeWine for prioritizing investments in children during his administration. However, he notes that children are among the fastest growing segments of the state's homeless population.

"Last year, over 21,000 children entered the homeless system in the state including 3,000 babies under the age of one, which is a 53 percent increase over the last five years," Faith points out.

The coalition is calling for a $20 million annual expansion of the Ohio Housing Trust Fund, which helps low-income Ohioans secure safe and affordable housing.

Faith says the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio also has asked the governor to allocate $25 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds for local programs that quickly move families in crisis into permanent housing.

"If we're really serious about providing a decent, safe, affordable place for people to recover from addiction problems, to raise a healthy baby, or even folks that need to hold down a job or to do better in school, there's nothing that helps more than to have a safe, decent place to call home," he states.

The report also notes that federal investments are needed for programs such as the National Housing Trust Fund, Housing Choice Vouchers and public housing.


Reporting by Ohio News Connection in association with Media in the Public Interest, and funded in part by The George Gund Foundation.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Corporate partners sign contracts to offer a graduate assistantship and pay the students. In turn, MSU pays the graduate assistant's tuition, fees and salary, so the assistantship is directly tied to the academic experience. (pressmaster/Adobe Stock)

play sound

By Victoria Lim for WorkingNation.Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi for Missouri News Service reporting for the WorkingNation-Public News Service Col…


Social Issues

play sound

A new report brands Connecticut's tax system as "regressive" for low- to middle-income residents and uses a report from the state to make its point…

Environment

play sound

Backers of a new federal rule said it will increase fairness for livestock and poultry producers, in North Carolina and across the country. The U.S…


A study by the advocacy group Inseparable showed one in five adults said at any given time, they consider their mental health to be either 'fair' or 'poor.' (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Mental health care advocates are encouraging federal agencies to adopt a proposed update to regulations which would expand access to psychological car…

Social Issues

play sound

With hotter summers bringing hotter working conditions, the Maryland Department of Labor is implementing a heat stress standard to protect workers …

Social Issues

play sound

By Jimmy Cloutier for OpenSecrets.Broadcast version by Roz Brown for Texas News Service reporting for the OpenSecrets-Public News Service Collaboratio…

Environment

play sound

Recreational fishermen in New England say commercial trawlers are threatening the survival of smaller businesses relying on a healthy stock of Atlanti…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021