Mayor Ginther Advances Annual Community Shelter Board Funding

Contact: Jennifer Lockrey, Office of the Mayor, (614) 673-9559

Mayor Ginther Advances Annual Community Shelter Board Funding as Columbus Expands Homelessness Prevention and Outreach

COLUMBUS, Ohio-Mayor Andrew J. Ginther has introduced legislation authorizing $13 million in city funding for the Community Shelter Board to support emergency shelter, outreach, homelessness prevention and housing stabilization services. This annual investment, advancing to Columbus City Council, will help residents experiencing housing crises while the city's broader work to prevent homelessness continues to expand.

"Columbus is growing, and our responsibility is to make sure that growth works for everyone," said Mayor Ginther. "That means helping our neighbors prior to an eviction or foreclosure, by supporting them when they're in crisis and connecting them to the stability they need to move forward. This work is about meeting people where they are and making sure more families have a safe, stable place to call home."

The annual CSB investment is one part of a broader strategy that Mayor Ginther has advanced as federal pandemic-era housing assistance has wound down. In his 2025 State of the City address, Mayor Ginther announced the creation of the Division of Housing Stability to help build a more durable local response to housing instability and homelessness, aligning the city's prevention, outreach, tenant protection and stabilization work to help residents remain housed and reduce pressure on the shelter system.

Since the division was created last year, the city has invested more than $8 million in housing stability programming to help residents before, during and after a housing crisis. These investments include homelessness prevention through the Resilient Housing Initiative, eviction prevention through tenant legal representation and mediation services, emergency relocation assistance and other programs designed to keep residents housed and connected to support.

One early indication of progress in the city's homelessness prevention work is the Resilient Housing Initiative, which has already served more than 1,300 households with problem-solving support and case management, as well as targeted financial assistance for qualified applicants.

The city is also preparing to fully launch the Columbus Outreach and Response Engagement (CORE) Team in the coming weeks. The team will work directly with residents experiencing prolonged or repeated homelessness, especially those who might not be reached through traditional outreach efforts alone. By building relationships over time, CORE will help connect people to shelter, behavioral health care, identification documents, housing resources and other services they need to move toward stability.

"Community Shelter Board is proud of the committed work from our nonprofit partners. Each year, addressing immediate needs and stabilizing the system takes an extraordinary amount of resources, both in direct support and program coordination. The City of Columbus' continued investment makes that coordinated response possible," said Shannon Isom, president and CEO of the Community Shelter Board. "Whether through emergency shelter, case management, or direct housing stabilization, the goal is always to ensure any crisis is met with dignity by responding together as one system, one collective voice."

Recent analysis found that 99% of households served through the city's homelessness prevention efforts avoided shelter, while 91% avoided an eviction filing in the months following intervention. The city's prevention-focused approach also helps preserve and extend limited public resources. For every dollar invested in homelessness prevention, communities can save up to six dollars in emergency services and other downstream costs.

"This is hard work, and no one organization can do it alone," Mayor Ginther said. "Residents expect us to work with urgency, with purpose, and to bring the right partners to the table. We are going to keep investing in prevention, outreach, shelter and long-term housing because every neighbor deserves a chance to be safe, stable and connected to opportunity."

###