City Council to Set Aside $1M in Emergency Support for Food Access and Housing Issues During COVID-19 Emergency

Council Allocates General Fund Dollars to Help Stabilize Families

[Columbus, OH] In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, City Council members will add an ordinance tonight, committing $1 million to Emergency Human Services to support families in need of housing or food support. For the first time, some members will vote via video connection, as allowed during a declared emergency.

“COVID-19 is going to hit Columbus families hard, especially parents working hourly jobs,” said Council President Shannon G. Hardin. “Council is acting now to put emergency money on the table to address food access and housing stability. This is a first step of a larger City and community effort to step up for our neighbors in need.”

Ordinance 0738-2020 offers financial assistance to residents. Council will work with community partners to finalize the details and administration of the program. The goal is to get much-needed resources into the hands of the community as quickly as possible.

“We are pulling our resources and working together to help ease the burden for hard-working folks. We know our human service organizations have systems in place to rapidly deploy resources to residents and organizations affected by this emergency,” Hardin continued.