Explanation
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this legislation is to authorize the City Clerk to enter a grant agreement with Ohio Haitian Community Network to provide advance payment in support of the organization's Post-Legal Status Community Support Plan for the support of the Haitian community in Central Ohio, including in Columbus. The Plan is a comprehensive, community-centered strategy designed to help individuals and families navigate the challenges that may arise following the loss or change of legal immigration status. The plan focuses on stabilizing families by providing immediate access to legal referrals, emergency food and housing assistance, employment resources, mental health support, and culturally responsive case management. It also emphasizes family preparedness through "Know Your Rights" education, emergency planning, and document readiness while building partnerships with attorneys, healthcare providers, faith communities, and local organizations to ensure coordinated support. Beyond addressing urgent needs, the plan strengthens long-term community resilience through advocacy, leadership development, resource coordination, and data-driven outreach, empowering affected individuals to remain informed, connected, and supported during periods of uncertainty.
The Post-Legal Status Community Support Program is designed to reduce the immediate and long-term impact of legal status changes on Haitian immigrant individuals and families while strengthening community resilience. Through coordinated legal, social, and economic support services, the program seeks to improve access to reliable information, stabilize households facing financial hardship, and connect participants with trusted legal representation and community resources. The program will increase participants' knowledge of their rights, emergency preparedness, and available immigration options, enabling them to make informed decisions during periods of uncertainty. The program will also prioritize emotional well-being by expanding access to culturally responsive mental health services, peer support groups, and faith-based encouragement to reduce stress, anxiety, and social isolation. At the community level, the program will strengthen partnerships among nonprofit organizations, legal service providers, healthcare agencies, faith communities, and local government to create a coordinated response network. By collecting data on community needs and service outcomes, the program will support informed advocacy efforts and help secure additional resources to address emerging challenges. Ultimately, the program seeks to empower affected families to remain safe, informed, connected, and resilient while promoting dignity, stability, and hope throughout the community.
Grant funding for the programming may include the purchase of food and/or non-alcoholic beverage items, which serve the public for the purpose of administering programming. Food and/or non-alcoholic beverage purchases will be subject to what is allowable in the grant agreement. Any cost of food and/or non-alcoholic beverage incurred before the effective date of the ordinance will not be reimbursed. Costs will not exceed $15 per person and any purchase of alcohol is strictly prohibited.
FISCAL IMPACT: Funding in the amount of $30,000.00 is available within the Neighborhood Initiatives Subfund, Subfund 100018.
REASON FOR EMERGENCY: According to the Springfield News-Sun, 20-year-old Pierre Damas Bel took his own life on I-70 "out of anguish over a required ICE ankle monitor..." Since the Trump administration ended Temporary Protected Status earlier this year for Haitian immigrants and refugees, among others, members of that community have grown increasingly concerned about their ability to remain in the United States and pursue a lawful path to citizenship. In the case of Pierre Damas Bel, the vitriol and xenophobia perpetrated purposefully by the Trump administration became overwhelming. This legislation seeks to offer wrap-around support for that same community as quickly as possible to prevent the further loss of life and to give hope to refugees and immigrants.
Title
To authorize and direct the City Clerk to enter a grant agreement with Ohio Haitian Community Network to provide advance payment in support of their Post-Legal Status Community Support Plan; to authorize an expenditure from the Neighborhood Initiatives Subfund; to authorize the payment of non-food related program expenses; to allow food and/or non-alcoholic beverage expenses incurred after the effective date of this ordinance; and to declare an emergency. ($30,000.00)
Body
WHEREAS, according to Immigrants Make Columbus, a report published by The Ohio State University's College of Social Work, 184,800 immigrants lived in Columbus as of 2019, a total of nearly nine percent of the metro area population; and
WHEREAS, over 76 percent of immigrants in the Columbus area had been living here for five years or more as of 2019; and
WHEREAS, immigrants constitute a crucial component of the local workforce and social tapestry, contributing their cultures and tax dollars to fund local services and national benefits programs; and
WHEREAS, Ohio Haitian Community Network's Post-Legal Status Community Support Plan will deliver urgently needed resources to a community in need of support services, including legal referrals, emergency food and housing assistance, employment resources, mental health support, and culturally responsive case management, including to the Haitian Community in Central Ohio and Columbus; and
WHEREAS, Columbus City Council maintains that there is no place for xenophobia or hatred in Columbus; and
WHEREAS, Columbus City Council resolves to affirm the promise inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me..."; and
WHEREAS, it is immediately necessary to aid the local immigrant and refugee communities during this time of acute stress and trauma, especially in the wake of the U.S. government terminating Temporary Protected Status for some, all for the immediate preservation of the public peace, property, health, and safety; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1. That the City Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to enter a grant agreement with Ohio Haitian Community Network to provide advance payment in support of the organization's Post-Legal Status Community Support Plan.
SECTION 2. That the expenditure of $30,000.00, or so much thereof as may be needed per the action authorized in SECTION 1 of this ordinance, is hereby authorized from Subfund 100018 per the accounting codes attached to this ordinance.
SECTION 3. That the City Auditor is hereby authorized to make any accounting changes to revise the funding source for all grant agreements or modifications associated with this ordinance.
SECTION 4. That Columbus City Council deems the expenditure of food and non-alcoholic beverages to be a proper public purpose. Any cost of food and non-alcoholic beverage incurred before the effective date of this ordinance will not be reimbursed. Food and beverage related expenditures will be subject to what is allowable in the grant agreement and shall not exceed $15 per person.
SECTION 5. That for the reasons stated in the preamble hereunto, which is hereby made a part hereof, this ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure and shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval by the Mayor or ten days after passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same.