HomeStart’s Renew Collaborative

HomeStart’s Renew Collaborative is a disruptive social innovation built on a simple and compelling fact:  the expense of  a property owner executing a non-payment eviction is three to five times more costly than the expense of stopping the eviction and preserving the tenancy. The cost-benefit of eviction prevention is so compelling that property owners can actually save money by financially supporting eviction prevention programs like HomeStart’s Renew Collaborative.

GreenLight launched the Renew Collaborative in Cincinnati to address the trauma, disrupted employment, and detrimental effects on children’s education, well-being and mental health occurring as a result of evictions in Hamilton County. The Renew Collaborative is being implemented by United Way of Greater Cincinnati to keep families housed at Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), preventing eviction by creating household financial blueprints, providing rental assistance, case management and 12 months of post-crisis stabilization services.

The HomeStart intervention makes a long-term impact on at-risk households’ housing stability. In other program locations, after 48 months, 87% of program participants have maintained housing stability and 95% have avoided eviction due to non-payment.

Over four years, the Renew Collaborative will scale up to preserve tenancies in 300 households in CMHA while also exploring expansion with other large-scale property owners. It is anticipated that a minimum of 90% of families will retain their housing after three years due to the Renew Collaborative’s ongoing support services for renters who face eviction.