By Debbie Holmes
WOSU Public Media
A three-year pilot program called Families Flourish is showing the way to a successful future for 10 Columbus women and their families.
The program includes 10 women who have 1-3 children each, with incomes no more than $33,000 a year.
In the newly-released Prosperity Report 2020, Families Flourish found that better housing, stable jobs and life coaching by Jewish Family Services and Big Brothers Big Sisters provided a foundation for the families to achieve their goals.
“They were really looking for folks who were in this very challenging, difficult situation, but they felt like they were in a position with a little support that they would see a lot of progress and that these are folks who are ready to make some pretty pronounced life changes,” says Jason Reece.
Reece is the lead researcher of Families Flourish, and an associate professor of the city and regional planning program at Ohio State’s Knowlton School of Architecture.
Families Flourish helps the families find safe and affordable rental housing in safer neighborhoods like Gahanna, Lewis Center, Hilliard and Dublin, among others. The program, established through mostly private funding, pays for some of the housing costs, while the neighborhoods provide more employment opportunities.
The Prosperity Report 2020 shows nine out of 10 participants indicated that their family’s economic circumstances have gotten better since relocating and joining Families Flourish.
From fall 2018 to fall 2019, when the survey was conducted, the number of families who reported their circumstances have gotten “much better\” doubled.
