Investing in Stable Homes and Bright Futures

Connecting the Dots to Bring a Family Back Together

Being a parent is a hard but rewarding job. For a local mother of five, that job became much harder when an apartment fire threw her life into a tailspin. After that night, she and her children were split up – relying on different family members and whatever beds they could spare. While she juggled all the pieces of her life, with little time and resources at her disposal, she maintained her job.

One of the bright spots in this story is that her community stepped up and multiple organizations – many of whom receive funding support from GCF – wrapped their arms around her and her children. Immediately following the fire, St. Vincent DePaul provided emergency assistance, funding a short stay in a hotel. Next, a resource coordinator at the children’s school-based Community Learning Center contacted Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Greater Cincinnati (HOME). Janet Brown, director of tenant advocacy at HOME, began making a plan:

“We work with partners to create a plan for providing a family with the stability they need. While other organizations worked to find housing to get her kids back together under one roof, HOME came in to handle her security deposit. Next, I’ll work with her on getting insurance set up at her new home and help her understand her rights with a new landlord.”

Addressing Student Needs

According to Project Connect, over 4,000 students are experiencing housing insecurity in our region – with more than 2,800 of those children attending Cincinnati Public Schools. “There’s been a lot of academic studies on the impact of evictions on school attendance and performance,” said HOME’s executive director, Elisabeth Risch. That is one of the reasons why HOME launched the School-Based Housing Stability program in 2013 with the support of GCF.

In addition to educating families on their rights as tenants, the School-Based Housing Stability Program provides families with emergency rent and utility assistance, without forcing families to jump through too many hoops. “As we’ve expanded to provide direct rent and utility assistance, we’ve seen it makes all the difference in helping to prevent evictions and keep families in their home and kids in their school,” shared Risch.

When housing becomes unstable, children often change schools several times a year – making it difficult for students to stay on track with their education. Children who experience homelessness are typically 2-3 years educationally behind their peers – affecting the trajectory of their lives and ability to gain financial stability as they enter adulthood.

“The utilities are also a big factor,” explained Brown. “If you lose heat, you get cold. If you’ve been cold all night, that certainly affects mental health and a kid’s ability to participate in school.”

At Cincinnati Public Schools, over 43% of students are chronically absent. The answer to why is complicated and unique for every student. But, when the dominoes start to fall, whether it’s an eviction, a utility shutoff, or a broken-down vehicle – it gets harder and harder to get to school.

Investing in Our Region’s Future

“We want all of our region’s children to have an opportunity to thrive,” said Rasheda Cromwell, chief impact officer at GCF. “Investing in stable housing and quality education for children is an investment in our community’s future and one of the most proven ways to end generational poverty. That’s one of many reasons why education and housing are strategic focus areas for GCF. The eviction prevention, utility assistance and advocacy work HOME provides pays off tenfold.”

“HOME is a trailblazer,” stated Adelyn Stroup, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Community Learning Center Institute. “The fact that HOME physically comes to the schools to provide service has been invaluable. We do all we can to reduce barriers for families to access the help that they need. As Community Learning Centers, HOME works closely with our schools Resources Coordinators to provide this much needed financial assistance so they can regain stability. These coordinators make connections with families and streamline the different agencies depending on the needs of a particular family.”

Together, we can wrap our arms around more families in our community and ensure that every child has the support necessary to reach their full potential.

Granted: $75,000

Impact

• 4 Cincinnati Public Schools served: Oyler School, Roberts Academy, Carson School and Mt. Airy Elementary
• 247 families served and counting through rent and utility assistance since 2017
• 53% reduction in student mobility at Oyler School thanks in part to the Community Learning Center’s work with partners like HOME