Homeless shelters and transitional housing in Franklin County, Ohio
Franklin County assigns nearly every emergency shelter candidate through one phone line, the Homeless Hotline. Adults and families in Columbus and the rest of the county call that number to be placed in a shelter instead of showing up at a building. Transitional housing programs then offer a longer stay with support services for specific groups, including youth, veterans, women in recovery, and people leaving incarceration.
This guide explains how the intake system works, which shelters and transitional housing programs operate in Franklin County, and who each one serves. The right starting point depends on a person's situation, so the eligibility of each program is stated where it is known.
How shelter beds are assigned in Franklin County
The Community Shelter Board is the nonprofit that leads and funds the county's shelter system. A person or family who needs a place to stay calls the Homeless Hotline, which operates 24 hours a day. Hotline staff take basic information and assign the applicant at one of the shelters in the system when one is open. Walking up to a shelter without a hotline reservation generally does not work in this county.
- Homeless Hotline (required for shelter placement) Call (614) 274-7000, any time of day or night. The Community Shelter Board 355 E. Campus View Blvd., Suite 250, Columbus, OH 43235 Office phone: (614) 221-9195 https://www.csb.org/.
Permanent supportive housing programs in the county, which provide long-term apartments with support services for people with disabilities or long histories of homelessness, are reached through this same intake system rather than by applying at an individual building.
Emergency shelter for families with children
The YWCA Family Center is the county's emergency shelter for families with children. YWCA Columbus has operated the center for about two decades. Families staying there receive meals, help searching for housing and work, and child care while parents follow up on those leads. Children are transported to their home school during the stay when possible. Placement is arranged through the Homeless Hotline rather than at the building.
- YWCA Family Center 900 Harvey Court, Columbus, OH 43219 Placement through the Homeless Hotline: (614) 274-7000 https://www.ywcacolumbus.org.
The Van Buren Center also shelters families in addition to single adults, and the same hotline decides which building a family is placed in.
Shelters for single adult men and women
The Van Buren Center on the west side shelters men, women, and families under one roof, in separate programs. Guests receive meals, case management, help replacing identification, and help searching for housing. Slots are assigned through the Homeless Hotline, and the shelter turns away people who arrive without a reservation.
- Van Buren Center 595 Van Buren Drive, Columbus, OH 43223 Beds assigned through the Homeless Hotline: (614) 274-7000
Southeast Healthcare runs the Friends of the Homeless program on the near east side. It includes a men's emergency shelter and the New Horizons transitional housing program, which serves adults who have been homeless for a long time and live with serious mental illness. Residents in New Horizons work with case managers on daily living skills and a plan for permanent housing. Southeast also provides medical and behavioral health care for people who are unsheltered.
- Southeast Healthcare - Friends of the Homeless 924 E. Main Street, Columbus, OH 43205 Program information: (614) 360-0251 Shelter beds assigned through the Homeless Hotline: (614) 274-7000 https://www.southeasthc.org.
LSS Faith Mission downtown operates emergency shelters for men and for women, along with a community kitchen that serves meals to anyone who is hungry. The organization also offers case management, employment help, services for veterans, and a health center. A shelter bed at Faith Mission is assigned only through the Homeless Hotline.
- LSS Faith Mission 217 N. Grant Avenue, Columbus, OH 43215 Phone: (614) 224-6617 Beds assigned through the Homeless Hotline: (614) 274-7000 https://www.lssnetworkofhope.org.
Transitional and recovery housing for women
Amethyst, an Alvis recovery program, combines addiction and mental health treatment with recovery housing for women in Franklin County. The program generally runs a year or longer, and children up to age 18 may live with their mothers during it. Residents receive counseling, parenting support, and employment services while working toward their own housing.
Shelter and housing for youth and young adults
Huckleberry House serves young people rather than adults. Its teen crisis shelter takes in youth ages 12 to 17 who are in crisis or have nowhere safe to sleep, and a teen may call or walk in without a referral. Its housing program places young people ages 17 to 24 in furnished apartments for up to about a year and a half, with counselors and staff support, and some of those apartments are set aside for young survivors of violence or trafficking.
Star House operates a drop-in center for youth ages 14 to 24 who are experiencing homelessness. Young people who walk in receive food, showers, laundry, clothing, and a safe place to be, and staff connect them to therapy, case management, and housing programs for their age group. For a young person who does not know where to start, the drop-in center is a practical first stop.
Housing for veterans
Volunteers of America Ohio & Indiana runs a Veterans Resource Center in Columbus for veterans who are homeless or close to it. Services include housing placement, case management, peer support, and connections to treatment and employment help. Veterans may also be referred into VA-funded housing programs through this center.
- Volunteers of America Ohio & Indiana - Veterans Resource Center 624 Harmon Avenue, Columbus, OH 43223 Phone: (614) 849-0145 https://www.voaohin.org.
Transitional housing after prison or jail
NISRE, Inc. operates The EXIT Program, transitional housing for adults returning to Franklin County from prison or jail. The program is licensed by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and pairs a place to live with supervision, life skills work, and reentry support during roughly the first three months after release. People with felony records, including some with restrictions that other housing refuses, may ask about eligibility.
- NISRE, Inc. - The EXIT Program 1561 Old Leonard Avenue, Columbus, OH 43219 Phone: (614) 253-8969
Confidential housing for survivors of abuse or trafficking
LSS CHOICES operates Franklin County's domestic violence shelter for adults and their children who are fleeing abuse. The shelter's location is not published, for the safety of the people staying there. Admission happens only by phone, through the 24-hour Franklin County Domestic Violence Hotline, which is answered by The Center for Family Safety and Healing. Counseling, legal advocacy, and help planning the next housing step are part of the program.
Survivors of human trafficking in central Ohio may find housing and support through the Salvation Army of Central Ohio's anti-trafficking program, and young survivors may qualify for the survivor apartments in the Huckleberry House housing program described earlier in this guide. The National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 connects callers to vetted local placements when no other route is available.
Seasonal warming centers
During the cold months, the Community Shelter Board coordinates warming centers so that no one has to sleep outside in dangerous weather. These sites open seasonally and their locations may change from year to year, so calling the Homeless Hotline is the reliable way to reach one. A person with no phone access may go to the walk-in warming and cooling center at First English Lutheran Church, 1015 E. Main Street, Columbus, when it is in season, and staff there help arrange a shelter bed.
The next step after shelter
A stay in shelter or transitional housing usually ends with a move into a rental, and money is the common obstacle. Our guide to rent, security deposit, and moving cost help in Columbus and Franklin County lists the programs that may pay those costs. A household that still has housing but faces a court filing should read our guide to eviction prevention in Franklin County instead.
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