The Home for Good Ohio Campaign is led by a statewide coalition focused on a common goal: ensuring that Ohio has a dedicated funding stream for the operation of permanent supportive housing, including front desk staffing, service coordination, and rent subsidies so that people who are disabled and homeless will have the supports necessary to lead productive lives and maintain their homes.

Supportive housing residents sign leases and pay rent, and they are linked to health, mental health, substance use, employment, and other support services to end homelessness and reduce dependence on expensive emergency public services. Supportive housing is permanent rental housing linked to a range of support services designed to help individuals with mental and/or physical disabilities maintain their housing and live fuller lives. By providing an alternative to expensive emergency public services, including hospitals, jails, and shelters, supportive housing is cost-effective and improves lives by enabling residents to live independently.

The Home for Good Ohio Campaign coalition includes low income housing providers and funders, state agencies that fund and provide supportive services for the homeless population, the behavioral healthcare county boards and service providers, foster care youth-serving organizations, veterans services, older Ohioans-serving agencies, faith-based service providers, adult and youth corrections, law enforcement, and providers of supportive social services, such as food pantries, child care, employment readiness, education, and more. Official endorsements of the campaign have been made by a number of organizations. Click the link below to view the Partner List and to sign-on.

The campaign goal is to identify state and other funds, primarily for operating and service costs that cover resident rent subsidies, staffing in some buildings, and service coordination to help residents access and receive physical and behavioral healthcare; life skills, money management, and employment training; transportation and food pantry services. The funding will be earmarked in the next biennial budget to support a total of 2,000 new supportive housing units at a rate of 1,000 units per year.

Based on an average cost of $13,000 to operate a supportive housing unit for one year, the request will be for $13 million additional each year for 2010 and 2011, which would result in 2,000 new permanent supportive housing units in two years.