We do not meet in December, so our next meeting is on January 14.
Old Business
Treasurer’s report:
The current balance in our account is $786.62. We paid for the Elks rental through the end of the year, and we have no outstanding debts currently that I am aware of.
You can pay your dues for 2025 at any time – $35 for the calendar year, payable by cash/check at a meeting, mail a check to PO Box 221, or use PayPal (paypal.me/findlayfaaa)
Legislative update (Tom Miller):
- HB 1: property income tax changes, on its 7th hearing
- HB 3: affordable housing tax credit (new construction)
- HB 50: qualifications for sanctions for housing (evictions, criminal history, etc.) – it’s a certification they can obtain to certify that they recognize and learned from their mistakes. This did pass, and it is law now.
- HB 59: eviction counsel for destitute defendants
- HB 90: recovery of liens
- HB 100: prohibit the restriction of the thin blue line flag
- HB 150: prohibit housing discrimination based on income
- HB 212: prohibit foreign adversaries from owning property
- HB 277: companion animals in rentals – tax credit for landlords who allow them
- HB 280: lead testing
- HB 386: phase out the state income tax over 6 years, repeal commercial activities tax after 2029 (2nd hearing)
- HB 388: renovation, repair, and painting rules – EPA help enforce this; this gives local control to the federal government for things like lead-based paint abatement. Lead-based paint has fallen off the radar but may be coming back.
- HB 391: accessible parking rules
- HB 480: expedited removal of unauthorized occupants – squatting
- HB 524: Ohio fairness act – prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation; this would protect religious rights as landlords, we could claim an exemption
- HB 547: low-income housing immigration verification; limit state housing credits to landlords who don’t verify immigration status
- SB 2: local property tax exemptions
- SB 36: property foreclosures and tenants’ rights – give the tenants more rights to be an eligible bidder on a property they live in
- SB 76: high volume landlord tax – after so many rental properties, a lot of that income would go to taxes, like 70%+
- SB 118: tax credits for single-family homes – constructing new homes or renovations to rentals into owner-occupied single-family homes
- SB 132: fairness act against discriminating due to sexual orientation
- SB 150: prohibit terminating electric & gas service to certain households and establish a payment plan
- SB 216: state income tax phase out; [note: when HB + SB, more likely to move forward]
- SB 241: expedited removal of rental occupants, also prohibit use and sale of fraudulent deeds
New business
Ryan provided data that he analyzed from our Rental Request form on our website. We’ve had 532 requests in 2024 through the end of October. The average maximum rent that requesters are willing to pay is $972/month across all bedroom counts. Two bedrooms were the most requested (42%). Tables and charts for the data by month is available in this document.
If there are any questions you’d like added to the form, let us know and we’ll consider it. If you want to be removed from the rental request email list (which is separate from the meeting emails), let Katie Erickson know.
We’re looking to fill the vice president role for FAAA for 2025, so reach out to Ryan Moninger if you’re interested.
Jamie Cunningham provided the group with handouts of Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving proclamation, which you can find here.
Motion to adjourn: 1st Tom, 2nd Joe
Speaker: Audrey Wild
The Cocoon, https://thecocoon.org/
Audrey is the housing specialist at The Cocoon in Bowling Green, Wood County’s only shelter and agency that provides safety, healing, and justice to victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. She has done property management and leasing, so she understands how things work.
The brochure Audrey handed out can be found here.
COHIO – coalition for housing in Ohio. We’re in a housing crisis here in Ohio. It is said that Ohio is doing better than many other states. We have 60% fewer houses than what is needed for Ohioans. It’s just not
Abuse is something that does not leave the survivor when the survivor leaves the abuse. It’s not just physical abuse; it’s emotional, psychological, economic, financial, etc. When it gets bad enough, individuals flee, often for safety reasons, and they’re in danger for their lives. They abandon their property and don’t even think about anything like shutting utilities off. When they arrive at the shelter, they have experienced trauma and have substantial barriers. In a market that is already stretched for housing, the barriers are astronomical.
Sometimes, people’s backgrounds are not always how they look on paper. Some survivors get housed easily, while others do not. Community is where real change happens, with more personal relationships. Audrey is reaching out to the community to help find housing for these survivors. They are often very overlooked when it comes to housing, especially when they’re people of color.
Statistically, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men have faced domestic violence. These are human beings that are going without their basic needs being met.
In 2021, 25% of Ohio renters spent at least half of their income on rent. Housing helps you function; if you don’t have a roof over your head, you’re not worried about anything else. These women need healing, and they can’t focus on that because they don’t have a place to put their kids to bed at night.
There is a shortage of affordable housing. This is a relative term. Only 43 affordable rental units are available per 100 extremely low-income households. Landlords often will choose someone who doesn’t have an eviction or some other offense like that.
We all have our own biases that we need to check, but we need to do better in giving second chances. There are children sleeping on the streets.
Audrey works with several different agencies to help get survivors approved for rental assistance. Reach 2.0 – a rapid rehousing program through Ohio Domestic Violence Network. It doesn’t just pay their rent; there are home visits involved to check on whether the tenants are taking care of the place. It takes them a while to get their voice back; they may have some fear in calling a male landlord to ask about fixing something. There is ongoing case management.
Audrey would love to have conversations with us who are willing to look beyond what’s on paper. The Cocoon helps eliminate as many barriers as they are able, but they can’t get an eviction removed from a record, even if it was because their life was on the line due to abuse.
They offer incentives when they can, and they remain in contact with landlords. Private landlords can step in where corporate complexes keep denying them due to regulations. Private landlords have the option to be less rigid in some of their rules.
The Cocoon is supposed to be a 90-day shelter, but they’ve had to extend stays when they cannot find a place for them to live. They get to know these women and would only suggest someone if they would be a good tenant.
We would need to trust Audrey and the Cocoon as they would be doing most of the vetting. We all have to trust and take on risks when we take on any tenant.
Q: What programs do you have to help these women get their lives back on track?
Abuse looks different for everyone. Some people have severe physical injuries, some people have severe mental health issues. A 90-day shelter means they operate under federal funding, so they have to structure things a certain way. The residents have weekly meetings for setting and assessing goals. They are reliant on assistance in various forms. Some are more challenging than others, but they need to keep working on their goals.
Currently, they have 16-17 individuals/families in the shelter at this point. 60% of them are working, but some are new. But even if they’re working full-time, they may not be making very much. They are starting over from nothing, along with healing from traumatic events.
Q: Does the organization provide funding for rent? How does Metro fit in?
It’s all on a case-by-case basis. The Cocoon does have funding sources. They are also assisting them with legal services (protective orders, divorces, etc.). They can assist with paying utility bills or anything that is a financial barrier to getting housing. But they also partner with other organizations to help with some of the funding issues. There are multiple programs that can help people with rental assistance.
The case managers help them with budgeting and other life skills so they can maintain their housing beyond when assistance ends. The Reach program does this very well. They have a program where the tenant pays a percentage of their income toward rent. Case managing helps with any resources and assistance they need for anything. They can choose what they want help with, they are not forced to participate.
Audrey has not heard any major complaints regarding her survivors in the two years she has been working in this program, though following up is not always a possibility. She genuinely does use her best judgment in placing tenants.
Q: What do the survivors have to bring to the table when going through these housing assistance programs? How much compliance do you get?
There are programs for domestic/sexual violence and for human trafficking. They need to be homeless, but not necessarily literally homeless (they still count if they’re living with family or something like that). Income is not a qualifying factor, but that’s where the case manager comes in. If there are high needs, the case manager will meet with them more often. The minimum is one home visit per month and one call per week. The Reach program has ongoing case management and high involvement. If they are non-compliant, they lose their funding. They are aware of this upfront.
Comment: You’ve done great with your advocacy, but we as landlords can get stuck in eviction situations and such. Some of the advocacy skills perhaps could morph into working with landlords who are trying to work with you. Landlords become the victims of these advocacies where people get used to free services. The setback is real when we have eviction situations where there is significant damage. Unfortunately, landlords have been burned by groups who say they’re advocating for people. There has to be cooperation among landlords and advocacy groups. In order to ask us to take a chance, we need to know that there’s support there when we need to get tenants out. We have our guidelines out of self-preservation, not out of spite.
Audrey is the advocate for the survivors, and she helps educate them regarding the expectations of the landlord. Her intention is to discover small things before they become big things. While she can’t see the future, she does get to know these survivors well. She advocates for both the landlords and the tenants.
Q: What do you do when you observe an infraction?
She does inspections for health and safety issues, like Metro. If the house needs cleaning, she will have that honest conversation with them, asking why they’re behind, what can be done, etc. They also work on goals during the home visits, whether that is budgeting their finances or whatever. If there is an issue, she will see it quickly. She is very active with them, even after they go into housing.
Multiple advocates are working with each of these survivors to make their ongoing lives successful. They have medical doctors, mental health professionals, etc. They still care about the survivors even after placing them into housing. It is very much a team effort.
Q: How motivated are these survivors to actually get help?
It can take 7 times for them to actually leave. Generally, if they have reached out to the shelter, they have already decided that they want to heal and have a better life. But there is a lot of trauma there, but they genuinely want to get back to living a normal life. They just have setbacks because of who they were with.
Q: Low-income people have often learned to say what people want to hear. Performing is a whole different thing. Advocates often see through rose-colored glasses. Do you encourage them to find better jobs?
Sometimes, there’s a lack of education that limits them to lower-paying jobs. Their background is also tainted for getting work. They have to choose safety over the basic need of staying in a dangerous property.
The only guarantee she can provide is the integrity of the agency and the people who work there. The Cocoon is the best around, and they keep helping people no matter what.
Q: What kind of protections do you have in place to keep the survivors safe from their perpetrators?
We can never 100% guarantee safety, but it is paramount. There is generally a CPO in place. Often, when they come to the shelter, they’re in an area that they’re not actually from. Their address becomes confidential when they get into certain programs. They provide doorbell cameras and such with the landlord’s approval. They work with the survivor to make a plan in case the abuser does show up. Sometimes the survivor chooses to go back to the abuser for a variety of reasons.
Q: What about after the initial 12-month period?
It could be a lifetime thing. Audrey loves what she does and would love to keep working with all of her survivors.
Comment: Tony is from BG, and he has worked with Audrey and The Cocoon before. All that she’s saying is accurate. She is very involved in the entire process and in the survivors’ lives, including educating them for life.
Q: Metro’s inspections got atrocious in the past, so many of us no longer use them. What are your inspections like?
Audrey is trained on the 19-page HUD inspection. Some of her inspections depend on the program the survivor is a part of. Reach has changed it, so it focuses on health and safety. Unless your property is very bad, you shouldn’t get any major dings, though safety issues would need to be addressed. Issues can make an inspection conditional. They can help pay for some minor things. If you’re maintaining your property ethically, you’ll be fine. Fire codes, major water issues, mold, etc., would be issues. If the landlord has integrity, they’ll be fine.
Q: What is the average need?
Generally, 1-3 bedrooms.
If someone has an eviction, ask for a double deposit. Reach does often approve the double deposit. Audrey also helps tenants be responsible for past debts to landlords on payment plans. They encourage survivors to pay back debts owed to previous landlords.
They are not trying to enable people; they want them to be successful in life. Audrey is happy to chat and build relationships with us to bridge the gap.
Contact Audrey at a.wild@thecocoon.org or 419-373-1730 x1015.