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WKSU, our public radio partners in Ohio and across the region and NPR are all continuing to work on stories on the latest developments with the coronavirus and COVID-19 so that we can keep you informed.

Report: More Ohioans In Danger Of Homelessness From COVID-19

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A new report shows before the pandemic hit, only three of the ten most common jobs in Ohio actually paid employees enough to afford a basic two-bedroom apartment. Now, the report notes the situation has worsened. 

The report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Coalition of Homelessness and Housing In Ohio shows renters need to make about $16 an hour, working 40 hours a week, to afford a basic, two-bedroom apartment. Some low wage retail workers, restaurant services, janitors and cashiers who lost their jobs haven’t yet received any unemployment benefits and are facing eviction. Homeless advocates got a $1 million grant earlier and now Gov. Mike DeWine says they will be getting more.

 

“With these resources, we are going to be able to keep hundreds of Ohioans safely housed during this pandemic," DeWine says.

 

Advocates want DeWine to set aside at least $100 million of federal relief funds for emergency rental assistance to keep people out of homeless shelters, where coronavirus can spread easily.

To access the full report, click here

Copyright 2020 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment. Jo started her career in Louisville, Kentucky in the mid 80’s when she helped produce a televised presidential debate for ABC News, worked for a creative services company and served as a general assignment report for a commercial radio station. In 1989, she returned back to her native Ohio to work at the WOSU Stations in Columbus where she began a long resume in public radio.
Jo Ingles
Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment.