Explanation
Background: This ordinance authorizes the Director of the Department of Development to enter into a service contract with Benevate, LLC to configure the financial assistance application software for the Resilient Housing Initiative, a homelessness prevention and housing stability program that has already launched for the Division of Housing Stability, in an amount up to $19,000.00. Approval is also requested for reimbursement of expenses incurred prior to execution of the purchase order, starting September 1, 2025.
This legislation authorizes the development and configuration of the financial assistance application and the vendor portal for the Resilient Housing Initiative (RHI), the City of Columbus’s homelessness prevention and housing stabilization program. It is the priority of the City to increase housing stability by helping residents stay housed and prevent displacement. Housing Stability is vital to our lives, contributing to social connection, health, and prosperity. Lack thereof contributes to disconnection, poor health outcomes, economic distress and, in the most critical situations, homelessness. The region is experiencing a housing crisis; our residents face rising rents, record rates of eviction, a lack of affordable housing, and an overburdened homeless shelter system. With these current realities, investing in homelessness prevention can limit housing crisis damage and relieve the impacts of emergency shelter stays.
Federal Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA2) ended September 30, 2025, leaving infrastructure in place to continue providing eviction and homelessness prevention to vulnerable residents of Columbus. The Resilient Housing Initiative (RHI) will continue homelessness prevention services into 2026 using local City of Columbus funding. The program includes housing crisis coaching, financial assistance, and housing-focused case management.
The financial assistance application software Neighborly, hosted by Benevate LLC, must ...
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