Columbus approves $700k to help displaced residents evacuated apartment complex

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Several months after an east side apartment complex with a history of issues was evacuated, hundreds of its former residents still have not found permanent housing. “This is an enormous project, it’s a crisis," said Steve Skovensky, Chief Programs Officer with Community Shelter Board (CSB). CSB helped former Colonial Village residents [...]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Several months after an east side apartment complex with a history of issues was evacuated, hundreds of its former residents still have not found permanent housing.

“This is an enormous project, it’s a crisis," said Steve Skovensky, Chief Programs Officer with Community Shelter Board (CSB).

CSB helped former Colonial Village residents get into hotels. More than 1,300 people were impacted by the situation and 391 families are still in hotels, according to Skovensky.

“I can only imagine how traumatic and stressful this has been," Skovensky said. "So many of them linked with legal aid or CRIS, have different levels of residency status or asylum status but just extremely stressful and traumatic for everybody.”

Colonial Village was evacuated in late 2023. Before that, about 800 Haitian immigrants were found living in units which were deemed unsafe. More than $4.5 million has gone towards supporting the displaced residents while work to find permanent housing is done, according to Columbus' Development Department.

"The City of Columbus remains committed to ensuring that families are given a safe sheltering option and an opportunity to recover from a situation where they were exploited and taken advantage of," Hannah Jones, Development Deputy Director, wrote in a statement. "We continue to work with the City Attorney's office to hold the property owners accountable and work with our partners to connect families with resources and services to address their needs."

City council recently approved another $700,000 to help with the situation. More funding is being worked on, according to the Department of Development.

“Every crisis like this magnifies the affordable housing crisis we currently have,” Skovensky said. “The scope of folks that came from Colonial Village it's over three times the number of families we currently have in emergency shelters so it is a crisis.”