On June 18, HSC joined multiple community leaders at a press conference held by Mayor Cranley and Council Member Mann to announce the City’s support for the creation of a comprehensive affordable housing strategy for Cincinnati. LISC, the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, the Port, Legal Aid, CMHA and Cohear are leading a variety of conversations in the community to develop a 10-year housing strategy by the end of the year that will position Cincinnati to attract funding to create more affordable housing. Though the Affordable Housing Trust Fund is expected to grow to $600K this year, thanks largely to short term rental fees, that is a drop in the bucket compared to what is needed to address the problem.
While announcing the development of a plan doesn’t sound particularly newsworthy, the fact that the Mayor and Council understand the gravity of our affordable housing crisis and the financial and emotional stresses it places on our residents is indeed big news. As the Mayor acknowledged, ““The costs are rising faster than incomes are rising, and that is a crisis for the country and certainly for our community.” HSC is excited to represent HSC to support the efforts of our community partners to tackle this important issue.
