$500,000 IN OHIO HOUSING TRUST FUND DOLLARS APPROVED FOR OHIOANS LIVING WITH MENTAL ILLNESS SEEKING HOUSING ASSISTANCE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 14, 2005

Columbus, OH -- Lieutenant Governor Bruce Johnson today announced that grants totaling $500,000 has been awarded to five organizations to help Ohioans living with mental illness obtain housing and rental assistance. The Ohio Department of Development’s (ODOD’s) Office of Housing and Community Partnerships will administer the funds through the Ohio Housing Trust Fund. (OHTF).

“This funding will help Ohioans living with mental illness seek safe, quality housing,” said Johnson, who also serves as director of the ODOD. “The Ohio Housing Trust Fund continues to positively impact hundreds of Ohioans who seek housing assistance.”

The funds, approved today by the State Controlling Board, will be awarded to the agencies listed below as part of a partnership pilot project between the ODOD, the Ohio Department of Mental Health and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. The five agencies will use the grants to provide housing start-up and rental assistance to persons with mental illnesses that are coming out of correctional facilities, and to persons with mental illnesses needing immediate housing assistance through the Housing First Initiative. It is estimated that 127 persons at or below 35 percent of the area median gross income are expected to benefit from this assistance.

Agencies receiving grant assistance include:

Agency
County
Grant Amount

E.D.E.N., Inc.
Cuyahoga
$100,000

Catholic Charities Regional Agency
Mahoning
$25,000

Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services
Hamilton
$137,500

Community Housing Network
Franklin
$175,000

Neighborhood Properties
Lucas
$62,500

The OHTF, created in Ohio House Bill 339, provides housing and housing assistance to Ohio’s low- and moderate-income families and individuals. Nonprofits, private developers, lenders, and certain local units of government are eligible to participate in the OHTF programs. The OHTF is funded with recordation fees collected at the county level and remitted to the state treasury.