COLUMBUS, Ohio — Monday evening, the Columbus City Council approved $75,000 for the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging to help the elderly and those living with disabilities find housing when they experience a housing crisis. 

What You Need To Know

  • Columbus City Council gave the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging $75,000 for its housing assistance program

  • The housing assistance program has been around since 2019, but is more critical now because of recent mass evictions

  • In order to be eligible for COAAA's services, a person must live in Columbus, be 50 or older, must be at or below 200% poverty rate, and be experiencing a onetime crisis

The housing assistance program with the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging has been around for about five years. But what makes this year’s funding so crucial is the two recent mass evictions at Riverview and Sandridge apartments that displaced many older community members. 

“It has already made a huge impact and been really crucial in preventing homelessness and evictions, and even more so now as we see these buildings closing and the needs really overnight just escalating. This money is going to be foundational to not only our agency, but, of course, those individuals living in Riverview and Sandridge,” said Katie White, the Executive Director of the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging. 

It is a community that is often unnoticed and even neglected, and the Columbus City Council believes this funding is critical in order to help those in need. 

“It’s absolutely critical right now,” said Melissa Green, a Columbus city council member. “We know that we have a lot of predatory landlords that are out there. Just really, there’s a lot of displacement that’s happening, happening across our aging population. And I know at Columbus City Council, but across the city as a whole, we are absolutely committed to making sure that our older folks are able to age in place, are able to stay in their housing, and to make sure that there’s safety nets available.” 

The Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging is one of twelve area agencies on aging in the state. White said it is her agency’s federal duty to take care of the aging community.

“It’s really our honor to serve this population,” said White. “And it’s great to have partnerships like the ones with city councils so that as the needs change and as more needs arise, that we can keep pace and meet those needs,”

In order to be eligible to use the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging’s services, a person must live in the city of Columbus, be 50 or older, be at or below 200% of the federal poverty rate, and be experiencing a onetime crisis. 

Correction: This story has been corrected to show that residents must be 50 or older to be eligible to use the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging's services. (May 21, 2024)