OHIO — New data shows rates of homelessness along with rent increased across the country. Evictions were also up as well.

Amy Riegel, Executive Director for the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, said the shortage of affordable housing in the state, rising rent costs, and inflation has put pressure on those who are vulnerable and facing severe housing instability. 

Plus, she said programs that existed during the pandemic for rental assistance ended leaving many without the extra cash to manage. As a result, “We now see in most cities across the state of Ohio, that their eviction rates are at pre-pandemic levels, which were at national highs, or in some cases like in Columbus, they've exceeded pre-pandemic levels.”  

While some communities have addressed the issue of rising evictions by adopting right to counsel so that people involved in eviction cases can be represented in court. 

Riegel explained that “Others are looking at eviction expungement to seal the record of those who've been evicted. But what we know is, it's not enough. And as more people are becoming evicted, it is making it more difficult for poor people to be housed. So when they enter homelessness, they're staying in homelessness even longer.”

With eviction rates up, Riegel went on to say that courts in the state are having a hard time keeping up, which has become expensive to cities. She believes, “That communities have the opportunity to take a look at these cases and say, perhaps there's another way to handle these cases or other efforts that the community can undertake to prevent the evictions so that we're not spending important city community resources on courtrooms rather on our community.”