COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cherlyn Elkins, of Reynoldsburg, is a single parent of a 4th grader and said until three years ago, she didn't know where their lives were going.
"The scary part is I don't know where I would be without this program," Elkins said.
She's talking about Move to PROSPER, a project started by the Ohio State University that is helping families like Elkhart's leave crime-ridden neighborhoods and place their children in high-performing schools.
"I was terrified in the neighborhood I grew up in. My daughter saw two shootings just two doors down, two separate times. Once, she was in the window and the other, she was outside playing. The terror that you feel as a parent knowing that you can't do anything in the moment to protect your child," Elkins said.
Move to Prosper helps pay $400 towards rent while the client pays the rest.
That's critical in a housing market where more than 20,000 apartments in Franklin County were lost in the $500 to $900 price range from 2017 to 2020 and replaced with much higher rents, according to the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio.
Move to PROSPER isn't just about rental assistance.
"We've helped them find new jobs and new careers," said Shilo Todorov, the development director for Move to PROSPER.
The program mandates that clients see a financial planner and life coach during its three-year program.
In July, the program graduated its first 10 families. Elkins is one of them.
"For those 10 families we were able to help them, on average raise their income by 58% which is about $17,000 over the course of the program," Todorov said.
Elkins said the program not only improved her living conditions, but it also improved her financial IQ.
"I save a lot of money by learning to shop the perimeter of a store. Not only were we are eating healthier, but I was also paying more attention attention to the actual prices as opposed to throwing things in the cart," Elkins said.
Finding affordable housing is a local and nationwide problem. According to Move to Prosper, the most expensive areas in Ohio to live based on how much you would need to earn an hour are:
- Columbus: $19.85/hour
- Cincinnati: $18.62/hour
- Cleveland: $17.17/hour
- Akron: $17.12/hour
- Union County: $20.56/hour
Ohio's minimum wage is $9.30.
The average renter's wage is $17.33/hour in Ohio, but to afford a two-bedroom apartment at market rate, that person would need to earn $17.05 an hour, according to the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio.
Move to PROSPER is looking for more clients and plans to add 16 more families next month. You can learn more about the program here.