This month’s anniversary spotlight

1 YEAR: Stacey Hough

2 YEARS:
Alvin Jackson
Angela Walls
Tierra Lee
Alexandra Maher
Roy McClelland Jr.

3 YEARS:
Darius Stevens
Bryan Williams
Dan Hook

5 YEARS: Laura Carpenter
6 YEARS: Jeanne Purcell
14 YEARS: Danyel Brown
16 YEARS: Linda Damron
28 YEARS: Helen Widman

KITCHEN ASSISTANTS

Lenice Briggs
Fawn Hill

CUSTODIAL TECHNICIANS

Christopher Collins
Armani Mills

ASSISTANT TEACHERS

Naomi Jones
Teil Sullivan

Program Assistant

Lillian Haddox

Employment Resource Specialist

Flannery Mack

Volunteer Coordinator

Mack Patrick

HR Generalist

Lisa Skelly

Front Desk & Security Coordinator

Allen Walker

Safety & Security Assistant

Deshaun Calhoun

Welcome Flannery
Flannery grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. After completing her degree at Portland State University, she spent a year teaching English in a small town in Latvia. Her work with students from financially insecure families and volunteering in refugee resettlement ignited her passion for advocacy for children and families. She is committed to providing strengths-based, culturally competent support to all individuals working to create change in their lives. Before her move to Columbus this summer, she was the program coach at a small nonprofit organization in Salt Lake that provides a supportive social network for families seeking financial stability. Flannery loves Columbus, and is absolutely thrilled to be joining the YWCA Columbus team as the new Workforce Development Specialist! Outside of work, Flannery enjoys hiking, camping, film photography, and cooking.

Flannery Mack
Workforce Development Specialist

Mac Patrick
Volunteer & Donations Coordinator

Welcome Mac
We are very excited to introduce Mac Patrick, our new Volunteer & Donations Coordinator! Mac is a recent graduate of The Ohio State University with a Major in Political Science and a Minor in Women’s Studies. She has broad experience and knowledge working towards social change within the Columbus Community. Her passion combined with her positivity create an inclusive and welcoming environment for all. Be sure to stop by the Volunteer & Donations office at the Family Center to say hello!

A Special ‘Thank You’

One of the unsung heroes of this years’ stellar Activists and Agitators event, (and the woman shown here between two balloons), Adria Hall. [You guys, she’s literately going to kill me for putting this in here so I’m going a bit rouge here.] Adria worked tireless hours making sure this event was a killer success. Every thing from signing on speakers, to scripting, to making sure every single detail was thoroughly thought out, discussed and covered, this girl deserves a standing-O, my fellow YWCA staff members! Did I mention she’s new? I can’t wait to see what this girl’s going to do next! So, please, please, please give her a fist bump, a high-five or a hug the next time you see her so she feels appreciated and loved!

Adria Hall, Events Manager

To kick us off in November, I want to share about some significant movement happening in the eviction space. We know that evictions have an impact on homelessness: about 30% of clients at the Family Center cite evictions as a contributing factor to their homelessness. We also know that the racial and gender disparities in evictions are reflected in who we serve at the shelter. For example, 64% of those facing eviction in Franklin County are African American. Seventy percent of our clients in the shelter are African American. I have observed eviction court in person, and it truly operates like an assembly line: judgements evicting people from their homes are handed out in a matter of minutes. As a community, and as an organization, we have been rallying around evictions reform as a matter of equity and justice.

And we are seeing some movement, thanks to the tireless efforts of several partners, including Columbus Women’s Commission (Christie and I are both Commissioners), Franklin County Municipal court leadership, community partners such as Legal Aid, and more. Some of these early wins include:

• Franklin County Municipal Court judges have approved five of six recommendations to change the process at Eviction court that will help even the playing field between tenants and landlords, and provide more resources and support for tenants facing eviction. For example, the Court is searching for funds to support a full-time social worker to be on-site to connect tenants to resources immediately, and help them navigate the process. They are redesigning the eviction summons to be more “user friendly” so that one does not need a law degree to understand the summons. And they have made it more costly for landlords to file a “second cause claim”, which is a claim a landlord may file seeking money owed for past due rent or damages. In its own analysis, the court found that only 50% of landlords actually pursued these second cause claims (which makes sense, given that most evictions are filed in the first place for non-payment of rent). However, the claim would continue to be on the court’s books, showing in public records as an “open” eviction case for a tenant who is trying to seek new housing.

• A brief has been filed with the 10th District Court seeking to end the practice of landlord testimony by affidavit, meaning the landlord does not have to appear for the hearing; a tenant does, and if the tenant does not show, it’s an immediate judgement. On behalf of YWCA, I wrote a statement in support of ending this unjust practice that was included in the amicus brief Legal Aid Society of Columbus submitted to the 10th District Court.
• City Council has recently updated its law regarding retaliatory evictions, prohibiting tenants from being evicted in retaliation for complaining about housing conditions, unfair rent increases, or other issues. City Council is also rolling out a new Eviction Prevention Fund to help keep tenants in their homes, with initial funding of $300,000.

The work does not stop here. There are more recommendations being vetted, including a standardized process for sealing eviction records from public access. YWCA will continue to advocate for changes to our evictions process and be at the table, to give voice to the hundreds we serve who have not been heard.

If you are interested in reading the amicus brief, or would like more information about anything I have shared here, please do not hesitate to reach out. And as always, thank you for all that you do!

Jillian Olinger
Chief Mission Officer