Backed by a $1.2 million gift from the Crane Family Foundation, the Community Shelter Board on Oct. 15 announced an ambitious multi-million-dollar plan to end family homelessness in Columbus and Franklin County by 2031.
The board is calling the gift "the first major philanthropic investment in the multi-year effort."
The money will be used to prevent families from becoming homeless while helping those struggling to return to stable housing more quickly. The board said it will expand proven prevention and housing strategies, invest in "deeply affordable" housing and establish a permanent funding source to sustain families in the long term.
"Ending family homelessness is an ambitious goal, but we believe it is achievable,” said Shannon TL Isom,president
and CEO of the shelter board. “We know prevention works, we know housing works, and weknow we can do more when our community works together."
"The Crane family’s $1.2 million investment gives us critical momentum to expand these proven strategies and change how our community responds to family homelessness," Isom said.
Is ending homelessness realistic?
Ending family homelessness by 2031 is an ambitious goal and is achievable, Isom told The Dispatch in an email.
She said for too long, "The standard in our community is to accept family homelessness. Yet we know prevention works. We know housing works. And we have the results to prove it. "
"We are not asking our community to invest in hope alone, but to invest in bringing proven solutions to scale. We are committed to what is possible in Central Ohio," she said.
The shelter board's goal is defined as moving families into housing that "keeps pace with or exceeds the number of families becoming homeless," according to a shelter board news release.
Family homelessness decreased 9% in 2025 and 3.8% in 2026, according to shelter board statistics.
Still, hundreds of families continue to face crises. So far this year, 2,135 families contacted the Homeless Hotline seeking emergency shelter. Of those, 623 entered shelters, while hundreds of others were diverted to safe alternatives or found other options that prevented a shelter stay.
The Crane Group said they've been inspired by other donors who "showed us the power of service and trusted usto carry that legacy forward. It is our honor to come together now to make a gift we hope will be trulytransformational for other families and the broader community," Crane Group CEO Dan Crane said.
The 40-year-old shelter board hopes to expand efforts by providing new housing, bridge money for families in transition and other assistance.
Five-year, $50 million plan
Over the next five years, the shelter board plans to scale their existing program to reach more families.
Expanding homelessness prevention to reach more than 1,000 households annually, increasing assistance for expectant mothers, expanding direct cash transfers, philanthropic efforts and offering other expanded rental and housing programs are goals.
Currently, about 5% of the shelter board's budget is allocated for prevention because public funding, which represents 86% of the budget, is restricted to shelter and permanent housing options. But the board has said that each $1 spent preventing a family from becoming homeless saves an estimated $6 to $12 in family shelter costs.
The plan calls for approximately $50.2 million in new investment over five years, including approximately $15.2million for prevention, $30 million for housing strategies, and $5 million for an endowment to provide a permanent funding solution. The shelter board's annual budget is almost $60 million.
By 2031, the goal is to reach a "functional zero" for family homelessness.
"The plan is designed to intervene before a housing crisis becomes homelessness, help families who do entershelter return to housing more quickly, and increase access to housing that families with extremely lowincomes can afford," according to a shelter board news release.
Growth and development reporter Dean Narciso can be reached at dnarciso@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Shelter Board sets goal of ending Columbus homelessness by 2031
