Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio

Ohio balance of state continuum of careon behalf of Ohio, cohhio provides leadership and primary staff support to the Ohio balance of state continuum of care (boscoc), a regional homeless services planning and coordination body comprised of 80 counties. in this role, cohhio manages the boscoc program and systems-level performance, leads strategic planning efforts, leads the coordinated entry process, and facilitates the annual application process for federal homeless dollars. in 2023, cohhio helped secure more than $25 million in federal homeless program funds for the boscoc to support transitional Housing, rapid re-housing, and permanent supportive Housing programs. As part of the boscoc, the homeless management information systems (hmis) unit collects and maintains data on homeless individuals in homeless assistance programs within the continuum of care. The data is used to help determine the efficacy of these programs and to improve the overall system response to Homelessness. The hmis unit was instrumental in providing the Housing inventory chart and point in time count data during 2023, along with ensuring the coc could meet all federal homeless system reporting requirements. The hmis team offered multiple user trainings for hmis users across the state, helping ensure effective management and administration of the database.

Youth Housing initiative:this program, which advocates for homeless youth, including abused and neglected youth, partners with youth providers, state agencies, schools and other organizations throughout Ohio. During the year, staff provided training and technical assistance detailing best practices in service delivery and the unique needs of transition age youth (tay) experiencing Homelessness. The youth Housing initiative director conducted technical assistance with over 150 provider agencies, schools and partners across Ohio. The program partnered with various groups to conduct four state-wide webinars attended by nearly 75 people. The program also conducted an in-person session on authentic youth engagement at the cohhio statewide conference attended by approximately 50 people. A network of runaway and homeless youth providers as well as a network of youth Homelessness demonstration program providers was convened virtually to discuss, plan and coordinate advocacy efforts to meet the needs of this vulnerable population. The youth Housing initiative director partnered with cohhio's communications director to respond to media inquiries relative to youth homelessness.comprehensive technical assistance and supports are provided to all runaway and homeless youth program, youth Homelessness demonstration program, and Ohio department of health homeless youth program providers as well as all homeless education liaisons around the state.

Advocacycohhio's advocacy efforts seek to end Homelessness and expand access to affordable Housing for all Ohio families and individuals. Cohhio especially targets Ohio's most challenged populations extremely low-income people and ohioans with disabilities.advocacy activities in 2023, including tours and events with policymakers, testifying in the legislative and administrative process, Coalition building, and media outreach, centered around the following initiatives:youth Homelessness: secured a $7 million appropriation in the state biennial budget to continue the Ohio department of health's grant program to expand and improve agencies' services to youth experiencing homelessness.healthy beginnings at home: promoted this innovative program that provides Housing assistance and services to at-risk, low-income pregnant women to reduce infant mortality and improve birth outcomes and family health; cohhio secured $2.5 million in the state budget to expand healthy beginnings.ohio Housing trust fund: successfully advocated for raising the maximum annual appropriation for the ohtf from $55 million to $65 million to direct more state resources to local programs serving people experiencing Homelessness, ohioans with disabilities, seniors, youth and veterans struggling with Housing insecurity.affordable Housing tax credit: supported efforts to create Ohio's new $100 million state low income Housing tax credit to create up to 4,000 additional affordable rental Housing units; advocated for targeting the program toward Ohio's most vulnerable populations.accountability & oversight: successfully blocked legislative efforts to politicize the Ohio Housing finance agency and destabilize affordable Housing programs that require independent and accountable oversight.tenant protections: promoted policies to restrict predatory investors and protect tenants at the state level; supported advocates working to advance local tenant protections in communities throughout ohio.federal budget: worked with Ohio's congressional delegation to defend and expand effective federal Housing programs, like homeless assistance grants and Housing choice vouchers.

Soar Ohio: launched in 2008, cohhio's soar Ohio project helps expedite the ssi (supplemental security income) and ssdi (social security disability income) application process and reduce barriers for disabled individuals (those with a physical disability and/or serious and persistent mental illness) who are experiencing Homelessness, are at risk of becoming homeless or are preparing to exit an institution. During the 2023 year 113 individuals were served and awarded $65,167.00 in monthly disability benefits and $246,091.00 in back award payments.cohhio's soar staff assisted 254 callers and 555 email requests with soar related questions and referrals. Soar staff continues to work with federal social security on providing access to apply for benefits on behalf of our vulnerable populations throughout Ohio. This advocacy work is invaluable while many ssa field offices are working remotely.to date, this program has assisted 9,909 ohioans gain the benefits they were eligible for, helping to stabilize their lives, and the lives of their families through the award of $36 million in annual income. Tenant Housing information/fair Housing: stabilizing at-risk rental households, expanding Housing choice, preserving affordable Housing, empowering tenant communities, and advocating for tenant's rights are the core activities of this program. Staff provide training and direct assistance to tenants and landlords, as well as Housing and service providers around the state. Cohhio's affordable and fair Housing coordinator, serves as a resource on Housing law for various state agencies, including the department of developmental disabilities, Ohio mental health and addiction services, Ohio department of developmental disabilities, Ohio Housing finance agency, Ohio development services agency, and the Ohio attorney general.the Housing information line offers free legal advice to anyone who has a question related to Housing with an emphasis on landlord/tenant issues. The information line helps keep families and individuals in their homes by providing advice to both tenants and landlords to prevent mistakes that lead to unnecessary and/or illegal evictions. This includes working with subsidized Housing providers for the benefit of the tenants there.during the course of 2023, there were more than 2,000 contacts with tenants, landlords and other service providers through phone calls and emails, as well as another 800+ persons attending trainings and webinars. Cohhio has begun returning to in-person trainings and presentations as the world emerges from the pandemic, and expects to ramp up in-person trainings. Training and technical assistance:each year, cohhio's training and technical assistance program delivers tools and knowledge to more than 400 community-based organizations. This includes trainings and seminars, phone/email consultations, site visits, workshops, curriculum development, meetings with state policy makers, peer to peer learning events, distributing printed materials, guidance, targeted technical assistance and hosting an annual resource-rich statewide conference featuring state and national experts in the Homelessness and Housing arena. in may, 663 providers registered for cohhio's annual statewide conference.many of our core trainings continue to be virtual, to allow for statewide coverage, and are offered multiple times throughout the year. We have also returned to doing in-person trainings and with providers statewide. The combination of in-person and virtual training was attended by over 2,500 professionals. These trainings promoted the utilization of best practices for supporting individuals and families at risk of Homelessness, experiencing, and/or who had previously experienced Homelessness in each of the 88 counties in Ohio. Healthy beginnings at home (hbah):cohhio supported the hbah research/evaluation project. Hbah was created to present evidence-based data related to Housing homeless pregnant women (1st and 2nd trimester) and infant mortality. in addition to providing safe and stable Housing, families were assigned a Housing stability services (hss) provider. Hss included case management, Housing search, ensured Housing quality standards met, landlord engagement, referrals for maternal health services, economic stability services and education. in 2023 hbah served 30 families each, in summit county, oh, and franklin county, oh. Cohhio staff supported each site with technical assistance, training, collaboration, access/referrals to community services and legislative advocacy. Services also contributed to household items such as cribs and/or pack-n-plays, beds for family members, transportation assistance, groceries and other miscellaneous essentials for babies.