Ohio Senate Hearing in Marietta on rural housing and homelessness: Dec. 4, 10 a.m.
Washington State Community College Graham Auditorium, 710 Colgate Avenue
If your congregation or community partners in Eastern Ohio are concerned about housing needs for the people you serve, please send written testimony on what you are seeing and solutions you recommend (instructions below). Please attend if you can! This is one of the public hearings which the Ohio Senate’s Select Committee on Housing is holding around the state.
“Sharing the need you are seeing on the ground and why your community deserves more safe, decent and affordable housing can make a big difference!” says Gina Wilt, Advocacy Director for the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO). Please explain your faith-based and community role – such as outreach leader, deacon, or social worker.
Email your testimony and witness slip to Chloe.Green@ohiosenate.gov by close of business on Thursday, Nov. 30. The testimony should be addressed to Chair Reynolds and Members of the Committee (Senators Terry Johnson, Andrew Brenner, and Herschel Craig). You can download the witness slip form from this link. Please email me at if you’re planning to submit testimony or attend so we can develop a team of housing advocates across the diocese.
The Senate Select Committee on Housing was formed this past summer by Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman to review trends on home ownership. Committee Chair Sen. Michele Reynolds (R-Canal Winchester) used to run a non-profit helping people find housing after incarceration, so she understands the urgency of addressing many other issues, including rent affordability and repairs of substandard housing It’s highly unusual for a standing committee to hold meetings around the state instead of at the Statehouse. Please use this opportunity to bear witness on any aspect of housing security in your community.
The Ohio Housing Finance Agency publishes statewide and regional housing needs assessments. The executive summary of OHFA’s latest report shows that home ownership is declining in Ohio as median house prices have risen. The housing market for both buyers and renters is extremely tight, with the number of vacant units falling 38% from 2016 to 2021. OHFA reports that Ohio had 447,717 extremely low-income renters in 2022, but only 177,318 units were affordable and available to them: a shortage of 270,399 units.
OHFA reports that over 1 million Ohioans live in households paying at least half of their income on housing, putting them at great risk of eviction or foreclosure. Populations particularly at risk include:
- Black Ohioans: 19% are housing insecure, with 27% of Black renters severely rent-burdened.
- Children: 26,385 Ohio students were homeless in 2021-11
- 32% of 19 year-olds leaving foster care reported in 2021 that they experienced homelessness in the prior two years.
- Senior citizens: 13% of mortgage holders aged 55 and older are severely housing cost-burdened
First training for petition circulators for Citizens Not Politicians proposed Ohio constitutional amendment to stop gerrymandering Nov. 30
On Nov. 20 the Ohio Ballot Board determined that the Citizens Not Politicians redistricting reform is a single issue. This allows advocates to start collecting more than 400,000 valid signatures of registered voters needed to qualify this proposed constitutional amendment for the November 2024 ballot. You can volunteer to circulate petition books by filling out this form. If you have already signed up, thank you! Local leaders will be reaching out to you soon to let you know about when you can pick up booklets.
All circulators need to be trained. Citizens Not Politicians has trainings scheduled in the coming weeks and will be adding trainings through the winter and spring.
- Petition training: 11/30 at 6 p.m, register here
- Petition training: 12/5 at 10 a.m, register here
- Petition training: 12/12 at 3 p.m, register here
In addition, Citizens Not Politicians will be holding regular trainings to cover topics such as how to talk about the campaign, background about gerrymandering and redistricting reform, and more. Stay tuned.
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry announces Episcopal delegates and priorities for the UN Climate Conference (COP 28)
This is the ninth year that the Episcopal Church has sent an official delegation including several bishops. They will participate both in-person and virtually, working closely with Anglican Communion delegates. The policy goals, delegates, and their dioceses are listed in the Nov. 22 press release by the Office of Public Affairs.
“The Episcopal Church has had a nine-year history of active representation at the premier global climate gathering, the U.N. Climate Change Conference,” said Bishop Marc Andrus, who chairs the delegation. “The delegation is a very diverse group of deeply committed people who bring their strong gifts to the multisector, ‘whole society’ approach to healing the planet.”
At its October meeting, the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church approved a resolution endorsing a proposed Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Kyle Vath of the diocese’s Creation Care and Environmental Justice Commission summarized the climate goals of the Episcopal delegation in his Creation Care blog for Christ Church Cathedral. These include advocating for the parties to fulfill climate finance commitments, supporting communities experiencing loss and damage, working towards carbon neutrality across the Episcopal Church, and numerous climate actions that congregations and households can implement.
Advocacy briefings are compiled by Ariel Miller, a longtime community advocate and member of Ascension & Holy Trinity, Wyoming. Connect with her at arielmillerwriter@gmail.com.
