Explanation
This ordinance authorizes Columbus City Council to enter into a grant agreement with Legal Aid Society of Columbus in support of the Financial Navigator program.
In the fall of 2019, President Pro Tempore Elizabeth Brown, the Mayor’s Office, and the Columbus Women’s Commission were awarded a CityStart grant from Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) supporting the creation of a financial empowerment roadmap to help women and families achieve financial security. Prior to the pandemic, one in four women were financially insecure, with women of color disproportionately struggling. With the knowledge that an extreme economic shock such as a global health crisis would likely to have an outsized impact on families who were already living with financial insecurity, CFE Fund created another grant opportunity for existing grantees soon after the pandemic struck. The City of Columbus applied successfully for $80,000 to launch a financial navigation initiative to support families’ increased need for resource navigation during the health crisis, per ordinance number 1198-2020.
The City has partnered with Legal Aid Society of Columbus to provide financial navigation services in order to help residents understand and connect to new and existing federal, state, and local resources intended for residents who are struggling financially.
Emergency action is in order to allow Legal Aid Society of Columbus to continue providing this public service as soon as possible.
Fiscal Impact: Funding is available within the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund.
Emergency action is requested in order to avoid interruption to the Financial Navigator program and the resources it provides to those afflicted with COVID-19.
Title
To authorize Columbus City Council to enter into a grant agreement with Legal Aid Society of Columbus in support of the Financial Navigator program; to authorize an appropriation and an expenditure within the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund; and t...
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