COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new report finds foreclosures in Ohio fell to their lowest level last year since 2001, but the state is still feeling the effects of the housing bubble burst.

According to data compiled by the research institute Policy Matters Ohio, foreclosures in 2014 dropped 18 percent from 2013.

However, Zach Schiller, the group’s research director, says the state is not out of the woods yet.

"These foreclosure filings remain at levels that were far higher than what was normal back in the 1990s,” he points out. “So despite the fact that we've seen a major reduction from the crisis levels of five or six years ago, this remains a major issue for Ohio's families."

The report found Ohio foreclosure filings fell to nearly 44,000 last year compared to just over 51,000 in 2013.

Richland County had the highest rate, replacing Cuyahoga County, which had the highest rate for nine years.

Schiller says with funding from the U.S. Treasury Department's Hardest Hit Fund, the Save the Dream program has helped thousands of Ohioans stay in their homes.

But he says the money is almost gone and the program is no longer accepting new applicants.

"We still do have agencies and nonprofits that are providing foreclosure counseling, usually though without financial relief,” he states. “They don't have the ability to help pay something on the mortgage the way that Save the Dream did. "

But Schiller says more counties are using an alternative process to deal with the number of blighted and abandoned homes left sitting by the foreclosure crisis.

"We're seeing an increasing use of these expedited foreclosures and that's a positive in a sense that at least it makes it more likely that these properties will be used or disposed of more quickly than if they just sit around vacant and unoccupied," he says.

Some $66 million from the Hardest Hit Fund has been pledged to reimburse county land banks in Ohio for buying and removing blighted and vacant homes.

And the state distributed $75 million dollars from a 2012 national mortgage settlement for demolition of abandoned homes.



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The faith-based nonprofit Our Calling is working with unsheltered clients in north Texas to create a long-term exit plan to help them rebuild their lives.

More than 4,400 unhoused people live in Dallas and Collin counties. A recent study by the Dallas County Health Department shows it costs more than $193 million annually to care for people experiencing homelessness.

Wayne Walker, founder and pastor of the nonprofit Our Calling, said in its 15 years of operation, it has found a lack of community sends people into homelessness.

"All of us have financial problems, and every single person has crisis in their life," Walker pointed out. "The difference between someone who's experiencing homelessness and one who's not is one of those people had a team of friends that they could call, family in their life, coworkers, and the other one doesn't."

He noted before COVID, they assisted about 15 people per week. The number has now increased to 75 people a week.

Walker explained data collected during the intake process helps them decide the best way to help the unsheltered person.

"We've built a technology platform that allows us to use artificial intelligence as we're looking at the best exit plan for this person," Walker stressed. "Traditionally, years ago, you'd send someone to a shelter or try to get them into some kind of government housing. Well, we would consider that two different exit plans, and in our system we have over 800 different exit plans."

Once a plan is designed and implemented, Our Calling stays in contact with the individual for a year to ensure they are in a healthy community with all the services and support they need to thrive.

They have also created the Neighbor Solutions app to help individuals assist anyone experiencing homelessness. Walker added it can be used by police officers, first responders and everyday citizens.

"Individuals across the U.S. will pull out their phones and open this app to figure out, 'Where is the closest shelter? Where is the closest domestic-violence center? Where can I feed my family?'" Walker outlined. "And that app is the beginning of a platform of apps we've put together to help not only the person experiencing homelessness, but the people that want to help those people experiencing homelessness."


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Once homeless and suffering from addictions himself, Joplin's mayor now leads a crusade to help others overcome the same hardships.

About 53,000 people live in Joplin, where a 2023 study found more than 600 individuals experienced homelessness, largely driven by the effects of the 2020 pandemic, high housing costs and mental health challenges.

Keenan Cortez, mayor of Joplin, has partnered with shelters and local nonprofits to offer support in response, which includes access to recovery services, job training and housing initiatives. Cortez said faith and determination led him from living on the streets to similar programs.

"I just got on my knees and I said, 'Help me,'" Cortez recounted. "I was able to get into a drug and alcohol treatment plan and then being able to be exposed to 12-step programs that, to this date, have been able to help me maintain my sobriety."

Between 2018 and 2023, homelessness in Missouri rose by about 22.8%.

Cortez expressed his excitement about partnering with Vita Nova Village, a Joplin nonprofit building affordable tiny homes. He emphasized the initiative will provide more than just a roof over people's heads. It will offer essential training and resources to help people address the root causes of their challenges and work toward stability.

"Do they need specific training so that they can get into a career that will offer them income?" Cortez asked. "Do they need mental health services, or do they need simple health services, so they can get healthy enough to get back into the workforce?"

Cortez added the city has recently approved a parcel of land so Vita Nova Village can purchase inexpensively from the city and the nonprofit has also raised money to begin building the tiny homes.


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Denver's homeless population hit an all-time high in 2024 but there is actually no shortage of available housing units, according to a new report.

Omar Ocampo, researcher at the Institute for Policy Studies and the report's co-author, said much of the housing built over the past two decades is not homes for people. Those units, many of which remain vacant, are being used by hedge funds and the wealthy as a safe and profitable place to park large sums of untaxed wealth.

"We have seen, over the past decade or so, a boom in luxury real estate," Ocampo observed. "Basically, the only people who can afford it are people who are ultrahigh net worth, or at the top of the income distribution."

The report showed how corporations and wealthy investors from across the globe have amassed large tracts of single and multifamily residential units since the housing market crash in 2008. The scale of the purchases has put upward pressure on prices, causing rents to skyrocket and putting homeownership out of reach for millions.

There are 16 million vacant homes across the U.S., which means there are 28 homes for every American experiencing homelessness.

Developers can apply for tax incentives to build affordable housing but the profit margins for luxury units are simply too large for all but nonprofit builders to resist. Ocampo pointed to the Homes Act, recently introduced in the U.S. House, as one way to turn things around for the vast majority of Americans who cannot afford what the marketplace is building.

"We need public investment and to establish a housing development authority, which authorizes hundreds of billions of dollars to develop permanently affordable housing," Ocampo contended

Corporations have also increased their earnings by converting rental stock into short-term vacation homes. Ocampo noted a shareholder report by executives at Blackstone, which now owns more than 300,000 residential units across the U.S., promising profits as rental stock went down.

"Chronic housing shortages meant their ability to raise prices and be able to extract more wealth from vulnerable working-class tenants," Ocampo added.


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