Explanation
BACKGROUND
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 facing disproportionate financial challenges. With the knowledge that an extreme economic shock such as a global health crisis could have an outsized impact on families already experiencing financial insecurity, CFE Fund developed a new funding opportunity for existing grantees shortly after the pandemic struck. The City of Columbus applied successfully for $80,000 to launch the Financial Navigator program to support families’ increased need for resource navigation during the health crisis.
The City successfully launched the Financial Navigator program in the Fall of 2020 with the partnership of the Legal Aid Society of Columbus and HandsOn Central Ohio, and is now seeking to continue the program through at least the end of the year. The Financial Navigator program enables residents to seek the help of trained financial navigator staff to understand and connect to new and existing federal, state, and local resources intended to support them through financial struggles. With the funding support authorized by this ordinance, the Legal Aid Society of Columbus will support the administration of the Financial Navigator program and direct service to residents for resource navigation.
In addition, the Legal Aid Society of Columbus will help with coordination for the City’s effort to launch its second initiative from the Financial Empowerment Roadmap, this time dedicated to making investments in financial counseling as a public service. In this role, the Legal Aid Society of Columbus will, among other activities, support partner and public engagement ...
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