The Renew Collaborative will expand the capacity of the Care Coordination team at United Way of Greater Cincinnati to keep families housed at Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA). The Renew Collaborative will help tenants facing eviction develop a financial blueprint that identifies the driver of back-rent while also paying back a portion of the debt to the property provider.

Non-payment is the most common cause of eviction in Hamilton County causing trauma, interrupted employment and impacting children’s learning, health and mental health. Before the pandemic, the local eviction filing rate was higher than the national average and is steadily rising back to pre-pandemic levels due in part to Federal COVID emergency rental assistance ending.

The Renew Collaborative was created by Massachusetts-based HomeStart because 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 keeping the tenant housed. The cost-benefit of eviction prevention is so compelling that property owners can save money by financially supporting the Renew Collaborative eviction prevention program. The cost savings have been calculated at over $16M to property owners since 2008 in other cities. Renew Collaborative is expanding nationwide with Cincinnati as an important expansion region.

In the next 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 Renew Collaborative’s ongoing support services for renters who faced eviction. Abt Associates will be assessing the Renew Collaborative’s impact in stabilizing families and reporting these findings back to the community.