Title
To recognize and congratulate Bill Faith for the outstanding work he has done on behalf of Ohio's homeless families.
Body
WHEREAS, Bill Co-founded the Ohio Coalition for the Homeless in 1984 which later became COHHIO, Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio and has served as its only Executive Director since 1985; and
WHEREAS, Bill serves as the current board chair of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, past board chair of the National Coalition for the Homeless and is viewed as a national expert on homelessness and affordable housing; and
WHEREAS, His advocacy in the late 1980's led to the establishment of State of Ohio funding for emergency shelters and transitional housing for the homeless; and
WHEREAS, In 1990 Bill led a successful statewide ballot issue to change the Ohio constitution to make housing a public purpose in Ohio, then in 1991 led the legislative advocacy to successfully establish the Ohio Housing Trust Fund. Since 1991, $160 million has been invested in affordable housing. In 2003, after more than ten years of persistent advocacy, a permanent dedicated source of revenue for the Ohio Housing Trust Fund was established. This new revenue source will generate $100 million for affordable housing in Ohio over the next biennium; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
That this Council does hereby recognize and congratulate Bill Faith for his commitment to ensuring that all of our citizens have adequate housing.