COLUMBUS — The Community Shelter Board says it will work to end family homelessness in Columbus and Franklin County by 2031, announcing a five-year plan on Oct. 15 backed by a $1.2 million gift from the Crane Family Foundation.
The board described the Crane gift as the first major philanthropic investment in the effort. The money is aimed at preventing families from becoming homeless in the first place and at helping families who do enter shelter return to stable housing more quickly, while the board works to expand deeply affordable housing and build a permanent funding source.
The goal is what the board calls functional zero: a point where the community is placing families into housing at a pace that keeps up with, or exceeds, the number of families becoming homeless. Board president and CEO Shannon TL Isom said the goal is ambitious but achievable, pointing to prevention and housing programs the board says have already shown results.
There is ground to make up. So far this year, 2,135 families have contacted the local Homeless Hotline seeking emergency shelter, and 623 of them entered shelters, while hundreds of others were diverted to safer alternatives or found other options. At the same time, the board’s figures show family homelessness fell 9 percent in 2025 and another 3.8 percent in 2026.
The five-year plan calls for about $50.2 million in new investment. Roughly $15.2 million would go to prevention, about $30 million to housing strategies, and $5 million to an endowment meant to provide a lasting funding base. The board’s annual budget is already close to $60 million, and it has served the Columbus area for about 40 years.
Prevention is a small share of that budget today — about 5 percent — because most public funding, which makes up 86 percent of the budget, is restricted to shelter and permanent housing. The board argues that restriction misses the cheapest intervention: it estimates every dollar spent preventing a family from becoming homeless saves about $6 to $12 in family shelter costs.
Under the plan, prevention would expand to reach more than 1,000 households a year, with more help for expectant mothers, direct cash assistance for families in transition, bridge money and expanded rental and housing programs. Whether the 2031 target is met will depend on raising the rest of the $50.2 million and on how quickly new affordable homes can be added across Franklin County.