Eviction resources dwindling in Franklin County as federal funds run out

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- People facing eviction in Franklin County have less access to resources than just a few months ago, and that's because federal money left over from the pandemic is running out.

The City of Columbus is adding some additional resources, but Franklin County has not implemented a plan to address the loss of help for those facing eviction. 

Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio (LASCO) says Franklin County is on track to see 25,000 eviction filings this year.

Since federal help is ending, people are looking at cities and counties to step up emergency rental assistance. 

“Rental assistance is starting to wind down this month,” LASCO Tenant Advocacy Project Managing Attorney Jyoshu Tsushima said. 

Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio is feeling the impact of federal money, left over from the pandemic, running out. 

“We are having to make choices about who we can actually represent,” Tsushima said. 

Tsushima says, now, funding for these services must come from local government. 

“We recently saw the city of Columbus pass access to counsel ordinance that provides attorneys to represent tenants at eviction court. But it's for this specific population of families that have dependent minors and are trying to survive at 100% of the federal poverty level or lower,” Tsushima said. 

This money has allowed LASCO to continue helping specific populations inside city limits. 

“At the county level, we don't have a comprehensive program yet. So, you know, while we did receive funding during the pandemic through ERA dollars to provide representation countywide, that funding is disappearing,” Tsushima said. 

NBC4 asked the Franklin County Commissioners’ president about how the county will help its residents facing eviction. 

“We know that we have to find a funding source that will continue to support those efforts. And we are in discussions on what that might look like,” Commissioner Erica Crawley said. 

“Columbus City Council has pushed forward the Resilient Housing Initiative and a couple of others to necessarily replace the pandemic-era funds, but help supplement. The county hasn't done anything similar to that. Do they plan to do something like that?” NBC4’s Isabel Cleary asked. 

“So one thing that we have just done recently is we have made a $37 million investment in more than 1300 housing units with in partnership with Navin. So you will see more partnerships and developments happening,” Crawley said.  

Crawley did not provide specific answers about whether there would be additional tenant advocacy funding for Legal Aid, only saying the county does fund the organization annually. The county shared that the subaward agreement between the county and Legal Aid renews each fiscal year, and will again this year, on October 1. 

The county shared that it will maintain its agreement with Community Mediation Services as well, which “play a critical role in offering eviction prevention education workshops for tenants at high risk of eviction, as well as for individuals actively seeking housing.” 

“We need funding for attorneys to provide representation to those areas. The city of Columbus has definitely taken the lead on making sure that Columbus residents have that access. We just haven't seen a similar expansion yet to county residents,” Tsushima said. 

Legal Aid says some of the highest eviction rates in Franklin County right now are in Whitehall and Reynoldsburg. LASCO is only able to help people in these areas if they fall under the funding LASCO receives through grant programs.