Coalition On Homelessness and Housing in Ohio

09/03/2026

We scheduled an extra 30 at 3:00 webinar on Sept. 8 at 3:00 to hear National Coalition for the Homeless Executive Director Donald Whitehead preview the upcoming Housing Now! National Day of Action on Oct. 21. Please join us Tuesday as Donald discusses what we can do to protect housing, defend homeless assistance, reject the criminalization of homelessness, and demand action that puts people before politics. Register for COHHIO's 30 at 3:00 webinar series here: https://cohhio.org/register-for-cohhios-30-at-300-policy-briefing/

https://nationalhomeless.org/housing-now-national-day-of-action/

09/03/2026

Ohioans have to earn $23.82/hr to afford a 2BR apartment, but the average renter in Ohio earns $19.59/hr. The gap is even worse in many parts of rural Ohio, like Athens, where the gap between the Housing Wage and renter wages is over $10/hr. "For individuals who’ve lived in Ohio their whole lives, we want to ensure they are able to remain stably housed and are not pushed out by economic interest over their viability and sustainability within the community.”

Despite rising hourly wages over the past decade, a growing number of Ohioans find themselves unable to comfortably afford shelter, according to a recent report.

09/02/2026

It's been a busy August. Catch up on recent Ohio housing and homelessness with our News Clips to get the latest on Continuum of Care funding lawsuits, Community Revitalization Act rule changes, the stopgap funding bill, Congressional housing round tables, and upcoming Statehouse Advocacy Day (Oct. 7), the National Coalition for the Homeless's Housing Now Day of Action (Oct. 21), and more!

Congress is back in session this week to pass stop-gap legislation needed to postpone another government shutdown as the U.S. House takes up a Senate-passed bill to fund the government...

08/21/2026

We had a productive roundtable discussion in Canton this week with Rep. Emilia Strong Sykes, State Reps. Jim Thomas and Matt Kishman, Stark County Commissioner Alan Harold, and community leaders on how we can work together to address Ohio's affordable housing crisis. Thanks to Congresswoman Sykes and her bipartisan colleagues who voted for the ROAD to Housing Act, we have a good starting point!

07/27/2026

Ohioans earning minimum wage need to work 87 hours per week just to afford a modest 2BR apartment! About 54% of U.S. workers over age 25 are earning minimum wage. Even folks earning twice Ohio's minimum wage can't afford a 2BR apartment. We need stronger policies and investments to help fill the rent-wage gap!
https://cohhio.org/report-ohio-workers-wage-gains-falling-behind-rent-increases/

07/26/2026

Fast-growing Union County has the highest Housing Wage in Ohio. Renters there need to earn $27.56/hr to afford a modest 2BR apartment. Problem is the average renter there earns only $19.86/hr. In some counties the gap is even wider and growing. What's the gap in your county? https://cohhio.org/report-ohio-workers-wage-gains-falling-behind-rent-increases/

07/23/2026

The Out of Reach report shows how much you need to earn to afford a basic 2BR apartment. In Ohio that's $23.82/hour - an amount that has gone up a lot in recent years. Can you afford to live in your community?

July 23, 2026 CONTACT: Marcus Roth, [email protected], 614-280-1984 x.111   Ohio Workers’ Wage Gains Falling Behind Rent Increases Full-time workers in Ohio must earn at least $23.82 an hour to...

06/01/2026

Jesse Rabinowitz, of the National Homelessness Law Center, has some messaging advice for Ohioans advocating against laws to criminalize homelessness: We’re sick and tired of homelessness too. It’s messed up that people are living outside in the richest country in the world and it doesn’t need to be like that. But these laws that make it a crime to be homeless actually make homelessness worse by wasting money that should go toward housing and services toward police, jails, and courts.

05/28/2026

Jesse Rabinowitz from the National Homelessness Law Center joined our 30 at 3:00 Policy Briefing and offered some messaging advice on the Point In Time Count: don’t get stuck in the data. Root our shared values: everyone needs a place to live and we are not meeting people’s basic needs. The solution is to build a system where everyone has a safe place to live.

05/04/2026

Utah’s legislature wisely rejected a foolhardy plan to create a massive camp for the state’s unsheltered homeless population. The proponents say, “it’s not compassionate to leave people on the street to die.” On that point, we agree. But warehousing humans in detention camps and forcing treatment on them is neither compassionate nor effective. The only solution to homelessness is a home. Let's leave these failed policies to the past and work together on creating more affordable housing with services to help people overcome the challenges that led to homelessness.

State lawmakers declined to back a Trump-inspired plan to move 1,300 homeless people to a campus on the edge of Salt Lake City, but supporters are trying to keep the plan’s spirit alive.