family_stability

for some
hard working families,
their hard work
isn’t enough


Born of a partnership between United Way of Central Ohio and the Community Shelter Board, it provides families at imminent risk of homelessness with a combination of immediate emergency funds and longer-term health and human services, including housing counseling, linkages to neighborhood resources and post-placement follow-up services.

This unique and effective approach is designed to prevent homelessness and reduce student mobility among low-income families in the Columbus City Schools and throughout central Ohio.  Similar programs in other cities have met with great success. In fact, 80% of the families in the program are able to achieve financial stability.

There are families who, despite their best efforts, live close to the edge. Some are single-income families headed by women. Others have dual incomes. And for too many, all it takes is one unfortunate event to push them into homelessness. When illness strikes or a pink slip or eviction notice arrives, they move in with relatives, or seek refuge in shelters. Then the kids in these uprooted families end up changing schools – often numerous times – and have a hard time adjusting and learning. United Way of Central Ohio’s Family Stability Collaborative enables families who are at highest risk of becoming homeless to keep their homes, sparing them the trauma of being uprooted.


The need in our community

  • In 2006, nearly 33 percent of central Ohioans lived below the self-sufficiency measure, defined as $40,000 annual income for a family of four.
  • An average of 28,870 people in Franklin County were unemployed during any single month of 2007.
  • Franklin County food assistance requests rose 27.5 percent from 2000 to 2005.
  • In 2005, nearly 30 percent of Columbus Public School students changed schools at least once. Children who change schools are four times more likely to fail state proficiency tests.

guidance during stressful times

Families in the middle of a crisis often don’t know where to turn. Even when they do, many lack the negotiation skills, social skills or knowledge they need to find a solution. United Way’s Family Stability Collaborative identifies families at risk of imminent homelessness who live in their own homes with school-aged children.

A program Prevention Specialist guides the family through a process of setting reasonable, actionable goals and objectives – to search for employment, or catch up with housing payments – that will help them overcome their situation. The goal is to keep successful families housed for one year following their service period.

Grants of emergency funds are available for short-term assistance, to help with job training, transportation, rent, and utility bills. The children in the family are linked with youth programs, health care and advocates who make sure they get the support they need to stay in their school of origin or make a supported school transfer.


preventing homelessness before it happens

United Way of Central Ohio is working collaboratively with the Siemer Family Foundation, Communities in Schools and the Community Shelter Board to provide stability for families in crisis. In its first six months, the Family Stability Collaborative helped 34 families head off homelessness and achieve some measure of financial stability. Over the next three years, United Way plans to serve more than 500 families and prevent homelessness for at least 90% of them.