A bipartisan federal housing bill could be another tool to reduce homelessness in Ohio and nationwide, according to one advocacy group.

The 21st Century Road to Housing Act could bring desperately needed housing stability, said Amy Riegel, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, more than 12,000 Ohioans were unhoused in January 2025.

Riegel said some Ohio communities have criminalized homelessness by dismantling tent camps and issuing warnings for loitering. She said that approach does not solve the problem.

“It does not do anything to lower the rates of homelessness or to lower the time that an individual experiences in homelessness,” Riegel said. “It actually just makes it more difficult to serve the individuals who may experience housing instability or homelessness.”

Riegel said the real issue is how to create more affordable housing as shelters remain full and people live on the streets. She said shifting priorities within HUD over the past 18 months have not helped address housing instability, despite data that might suggest otherwise.

The measure would prevent large corporations from purchasing additional single-family homes, reduce regulatory burdens and expand the availability of manufactured and factory-built housing.

Riegel said the bill passed overwhelmingly in the Senate and House. Legislators are working to resolve differences between two versions of the bill.

“We are hopeful that that will still happen this summer before they go on recess and that it will sit on the president’s desk for signature before kids are going back to school with new school supplies in their book bag,” Riegel said.

She said Ohio lawmakers also can address the housing affordability problem by safeguarding the Ohio Housing Trust Fund and expanding the Ohio Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.

This story was produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.

Source: Public News Service