A communitywide, five-year strategic initiative to ensure every family in Franklin County and the Central Ohio region has access to a safe, stable home.
Our Vision & Goals: Functional Zero
Achieve functional zero for family homelessness by 2031, ensuring families move into stable housing at least as quickly as others experience housing crises.
Functional zero does not mean homelessness will never occur. It means having the systems and resources in place to prevent homelessness whenever possible and, when it does occur, quickly connect families to stable housing so their experience is rare, brief, and non-recurring.
Target Milestones
- Reduce the number of families entering emergency shelter from 623 in FY2026 to 400 in FY2027.
- Prevent or divert 1,500 families annually from entering emergency shelter by FY2031.
Current Progress
- Point-in-Time Counts showed family homelessness decreased by 3.8% in 2026 and 9% in 2025.
- In FY2026, 75% of the 2,400+ families calling the Homeless Hotline were diverted, prevented from losing housing, or self-resolved.
Pathways to Ending Family Homelessness
CSB's proven, housing-focused strategies to expand for families over our five-year plan:
Expansion
Targeted Homelessness Prevention & Diversion
Expand prevention programs to serve more than 1,000 households and 120 expectant mothers each year.
Expansion
Direct Cash Transfer
Building on Success
157 families received a $1,500 one-time Direct Cash Transfer payment to exit shelter, resulting in 61% fewer days in shelter (average of 44 days vs. 113 days for those without the assistance).
Expansion Plan
Serve an additional 100 families per year, provide 11 months of basic income ($500/month), and hire full-time staff to connect families with banking and financial resources.
New
Bridge Housing
Divert 170 families per year to short-term accommodations (friends, family, or hotels) while prevention services work to stabilize them in permanent housing.
Expansion
Rapid Rehousing
Support 250 additional families over 5 years to move quickly into permanent housing solutions.
New
Shallow Subsidies
Deliver time-limited partial rental payments directly to landlords for 40 families annually.
New
Deeply Affordable Housing
Address critical housing gaps by investing directly in deeply affordable housing opportunities, such as acquiring new properties.
Transformational Investment & Funding Model
86%
Currently, public funding accounts for 86% of CSB's revenue but is restricted or must be dedicated to emergency shelter due to need. HUD funding is restricted to permanent housing, but most of it supports single adults.
5%
Only 5% of CSB's budget currently goes to prevention, even though every $1 spent on prevention saves $6 to $12 in shelter costs.
0%
None of CSB's budget is currently allocated to deeply affordable housing.
Five-Year Financial Blueprint: $50.2M Total New Investment
The Crane Family Foundation's landmark $1.2M gift is the catalyst for philanthropic leadership in this community initiative. To achieve our goal, we need an additional $49M of support:
- $15.2 Million: Homelessness prevention programs.
- $30 Million: Deeply affordable housing and housing solutions.
- $5 Million: A permanent endowment fund to sustain prevention strategies long-term.
"Ending family homelessness is an ambitious goal, but we believe it is achievable. We know prevention works, we know housing works, and we know we can do more when our community works together."
Shannon TL Isom, CSB President + CEO
How to Get Involved
Donate
Invest in long-term prevention and housing solutions across Franklin County and Central Ohio.
Partner With Us
Contact Chris Delisio for collaboration across the public, private, corporate, and philanthropic sectors.
Chris Delisio, Chief Development Officer
Contact
Phone
614.221.9195
Media Contact
Níel M. Jurist, Chief Communications & Government Affairs Officer