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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Nov. 30 2020 – Columbus-based Families Flourish (MTP), which helps single mothers and their children flourish, today announced that it is moving forward with a $6.4 million initiative to expand its efforts by providing 100 additional local families with vital financial assistance and personal development resources during these challenging times.

Leading health and well-being company Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is the first organization to commit as a program partner, providing $75,000 in funding as well as health care and research expertise.

The Ohio State University’s Women & Philanthropy organization has selected Families Flourish to be one of it’s three 2020 grant recipients. The $50,000 grant, awarded by Women & Philanthropy, has been issued for the planning and evaluation of Families Flourish’s next phase: our demonstration project.

By Richard Kahlenberg
The Century Foundation

KiAra Cornelius, an African-American, single mother of two, desperately wanted a school that would be more challenging for her children, particularly her son, Senoj, a straight-A student.

Tehani, a divorced Hispanic mother of three who has been homeless, wanted a school with choir and drama programs for her daughter Brandy, a passionate singer and actor.

Both mothers lived in Columbus, Ohio, whose public school system has an overall D rating on the state report card, and an F rating for academic achievement. They sought out whatever opportunities they could…

By Richard Kahlenberg
The American Prospect

For the past few weeks, President Donald Trump has been busy trying to scare what he calls the “Suburban Housewives of America” into thinking that Vice President Biden’s support for fair housing efforts will bring crime to the suburbs and reduce property values.

In a big step backward, Trump revoked an Obama-era fair housing regulation that spelled out requirements for the “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” provision of the Fair Housing Act. When they passed the act in 1968, lawmakers recognized that ending housing discrimination was not enough; communities receiving federal funds should also take affirmative steps to undo the lasting harm of decades of housing discrimination by coming up with plans to reduce segregation.

Recently, the Poverty & Race Research Action Council, PRRAC, published a national review of housing mobility programs. Their report, titled “Housing Mobility Programs in the U.S. 2020,” is focused on multiple programs across the U.S. concentrated on enabling low income people to live in higher opportunity neighborhoods. Families Flourish is among the 24 existing and emerging programs reviewed in the report.

Recently, several key members of Families Flourish’s team were interviewed for an episode of the Doorsteps podcast. Amy Klaben, project facilitator, Dr. Rachel Kliet, committee chair, and Dr. Jason Reece, project evaluator, discuss how our project started, what we’re doing now, and where we’re headed with Doorsteps’ host, Dr. Cody Price.

By Amy Klaben
The Columbus Dispatch

I thank the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, Mayor Andrew J. Ginther of Columbus and Columbus City Council for recognizing that racism is a public health emergency. And I thank The Columbus Dispatch for editorials supporting an end to racism in Columbus and the need to create a just and equitable community.

Racism is not just in Columbus. It is throughout the region. To understand the history of our region over the past 50 years, read the book “Getting Around Brown: Desegregation, Development and the Columbus Public Schools” by Gregory S. Jacobs.

By Joel Oliphint
Columbus Alive

Initial results from the pilot program, which relocated 10 single moms into better housing, are promising

In Franklin County, thousands of households put more than half of their paycheck toward housing. It’s now a well-known problem: Central Ohio desperately needs more affordable housing. And Families Flourish hopes to be one part of the solution.

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.

By Jack D’Aurora
Op-Ed originally published in the Columbus Dispatch

You can determine the opportunities a Franklin County child will likely have by his neighborhood. Social determinants like health, education and incarceration rates are indicators for success and portend a bleak future for many neighborhoods. What’s to be done? First, let’s look at the numbers.