Cassady Avenue
North Cassady Avenue Recovery Enrichment program has provided up to 11 units (efficiency apartments) of quality affordable permanent housing since 1999 for formerly chronically homeless men recovering from drug or alcohol addiction. Designed for those in recovery, the program combines a supportive environment with responsibility. To live in the Cassady Avenue Apartments, residents must engage in outpatient drug and alcohol abuse treatment or have an established recovery program and pay rent. Residents are linked to community-based social, health and employment services, which enable residents to find work and maintain recovery. Many residents have reunited with estranged family members.
Who are the sponsors of Recovery Enrichment at North Cassady? Community Housing Network, Inc. (CHN) is working in partnership with the Columbus Neighborhood Health Center's Health Care for the Homeless Program to provide this housing program for people with special needs. CHN, owner and property manager, is a nonprofit developer, owner, and manager of supportive housing and has been providing specialized property management services and rent subsidies to people with disabilities since 1987. To date, CHN has developed and owns over 1,000 apartments at 130 different sites, which are widely scattered throughout Franklin County in 27 zip codes and six suburban communities in addition to Columbus. The mission of CNHC's Health Care for the Homeless is to provide access and linkage to primary healthcare, substance abuse and mental health services for individuals and families who are homeless.
What is supportive housing? Supportive housing is quality, affordable, permanent housing linked to social, health and employment services. Residents hold their own leases and pay their own rents. Support services enable residents to find work, maintain their recovery, and give back to the community. Supportive housing also provides peer support and a sense of community, which are often lacking in the lives of the formerly homeless and people with a disability. Over the past decade supportive housing has been successfully developed and operated throughout Franklin County including suburban communities like Bexley, Upper Arlington, Reynoldsburg, Grandview, Grove City, and Worthington.
Is this a shelter or group transitional home? No. The apartments at North Cassady are not a group home, halfway house, treatment program, or a shelter. It is permanent affordable housing linked to a safety net of support services that enable formerly homeless and disabled persons to live independently with hope and dignity.
The residents of 540 North Cassady include ten formerly chronically homeless men disabled by alcohol or other substance abuse and in recovery. A trained Resident Manager lives on site and provides supervision of the housing.
What services are provided? Available services include drug and alcohol treatment, case management, vocational rehabilitation, client assistance, rent subsidies, and employment assistance. CNHC's Health Care for the Homeless provides Care Coordinators, who provide case management services (including referrals to healthcare providers, AOD treatment services, and mental health agencies) and assist tenants in obtaining entitlements or benefits and assistance for which they are qualified. CHN provides the services of a live-in Resident Manager who coordinates building management, engages and assists tenants in life skills activities, and facilitates house meetings.
How are the apartment buildings managed? CHN developed and owns the building, provides property maintenance, and arranges for tenants to sign permanent leases and appropriate addendum for recovery housing. CHN also works with tenants to obtain subsidies from Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority. CHN will continue to protect its investment in this property through planned quality maintenance and attractive landscaping. CHN manages the Cassady building and employs a Resident Manager who provides general building and tenant oversight.
Tenants have the same rights and responsibilities as residents in other apartment buildings. Like all citizens, they have the same rights and responsibilities established by Fair Housing and Landlord/Tenant laws. To assure tenants rights, CHN has a Tenants Rights policy, which is provided to all tenants and includes a grievance process. Like any tenant, they are subject to eviction for disruptive behavior. Residents must pay rent and maintain their apartments just like other apartment tenants.
Why was this building chosen for supportive housing? The location provides easy access to bus service, shopping and potential employment opportunities. Siting this project in Bexley provided an opportunity to place a supportive housing program in a Columbus suburb. Access to treatment facilities and to 12-Step meetings was also a consideration.
Community relations - Community Housing Network and the City of Bexley and surrounding neighbors enjoy a very positive and cooperative working relationship. Bexley citizens have generously supported this housing and the men residing here. Citizens have helped design and implement landscaping improvements, have provided employment opportunities to residents, and have involved residents in the life of the community. A group of Bexley residents has participated in the Community Advisory Council, which was formed in the planning stages of this project. The Council developed a Good Neighbor Agreement that sets forth mutual expectations for the operation and success of the program. Community members also host periodic "Meet and Greet" celebrations for tenants in the parish hall of St. Thomas Church at Fifth Avenue and Cassady.
Who to contact? For more information about the supportive housing, please contact:
Mike Tynan, Director of Housing Services
Community Housing Network, Inc.
(614) 487-6761
Our sponsors - Community Housing Network and its partners would like to thank the following organizations for their funding and support of this project:
- Community Shelter Board
- Franklin County Board of Commissioners
- Ohio Department of Development
- Franklin County ADAMH Board
- U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Care for the Homeless
- Fifth Third Bank
- Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority
