A report requested by the Community Shelter Board found that homelessness in central Ohio could increase by as much as 68% in the next four years.
The same report found that Columbus and Franklin County have 26 affordable housing units for every 100 extremely low-income households.
The report and issues surrounding homelessness was discussed Tuesday afternoon at the “I AM…Making Space, Creaking Solutions, Disrupting Systems,” summit at the Lincoln Theatre in the King-Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood.
The Community Shelter Board had the assessment done through the RAMA Consulting Group and Focus Strategies, starting in November 2022. The analysis involved looking at population and housing market projections, local planning documents and the structure of the current homelessness response system.
The study found that median rent prices in central Ohio have increased by about 34% from 2017 to 2022, compared to a 29% increase nationally. The availability of places to rent decreased by 40% over the same period, which was more than double the national average.
Michael Wilkos, chair of the Continuum of Care Board, which helps guide local strategies to deal with homelessness, spoke during Tuesday's summit.
Wilkos told WOSU that in the last 15 years, central Ohio has been building 5,000 fewer housing units annually than it needed to keep up with population growth. Now, rents are “jumping incredibly fast,” and housing is scarce.
“That housing scarcity is certainly manifesting itself in the homelessness response system,” Wilkos said.
Wilkos said that families who are placed in homes often are back seeking help within a year, not because they've been evicted, but because their rent has risen beyond their means.
“So the system is starting to have a return family or individual (through) no fault of the individual or family, but because the housing market is reacting and behaving in these new ways,” Wilkos said. “That is why it was important for us to take time and understand the current market conditions and how we scale up for the growth of this city.”
Fighting record-setting homelessness
The 2024 point-in-time count, which captures how many people are homeless on a certain day, showed a 1.8% increase in homelessness from 2023. Overall, 2,380 people in Columbus and Franklin County were experiencing homelessness during the January count.
The previous count in 2023 showed a roughly 46% increase in homelessness from the year before, which was a record number at the time, Wilkos said.
Wilkos said to battle growing homelessness, central Ohio communities need to expand subsidies and build more housing, including permanent supportive housing for people who were formerly homeless. He said organizations also need to consider equity and racial disparities as they tackle problems.
He said everyone can help fight homelessness by volunteering and donating to organizations that support housing services. He said folks can also vote for policies and programs that help reduce homelessness.
“We have the opportunity to vote for affordable housing bonds. We have the ability to lobby our elected leaders and pass sources of income protections. And we have transportation and zoning issues we need to change,” Wilkos said. “Those are policies which will change the community conditions so we can slow down this growth (in homelessness).”
Wilkos said voters in Columbus twice passed housing bonds to increase the construction of affordable housing. Columbus also has rezoned 140 miles of commercial corridors to open the door for up the 88,000 units of housing. The areas in question were previously zoned for 6,000 housing units.
Columbus, Bexley, Whitehall, Worthington, Westerville, Grandview, Upper Arlington and Pickerington have all passed housing protections, according to Wilkos. The communities require landlords to include additional sources of income like social security, disability, veterans’ benefits, child support and housing choice vouchers as qualifying income.
Not past the 'point of no return'
Wilkos said while homelessness is still growing in central Ohio, it’s not too late to turn the trend around. He pointed to western cities like Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, where thousands of people live in parks and on street corners, as examples of what not to do.
“There are many U.S. cities where their current community conditions around homelessness may be beyond the point of no return. They have chronically been under-building housing. They have been under-investing in a homelessness ecosystem and the coordination of those services,” Wilkos said.
He said the strategy report released on Tuesday is the first step in looking at Columbus and central Ohio in new ways, so the area can avoid situations like those west coast cities.
Other speakers at the "I AM" summit on Tuesday included Community Shelter Board President and CEO Shannon Isom, and speakers from Focus Strategies. Carlie Boos, executive director of the Affordable Housing Alliance, moderated a panel discussion.
