A program that helps low-income families secure good housing in the Columbus area is celebrating 10 years since its founders met to hatch their idea.
The nonprofit Families Flourish program has helped 130 families find stable housing and economic security since that time. The program also provides families with career and financial coaching.
The program says it has helped raise family incomes by an average of 58% or $17,000.
Rachel Kleit is the associate dean for faculty affairs at Ohio State University's College of Engineering and professor of city and regional planning.
Kleit said the Families Flourish program is needed in Columbus.
"It provides housing in neighborhoods of opportunity, which means there are good schools and are safe. That allows families to reduce their stress and actually think about the future so they're not living hand to mouth," Kleit said.
She said the program helps families overcome entrenched hurdles in Columbus.
"We have highly economically segregated neighborhoods. We are behind in the affordable housing we need to build. And we are not taking care of that next generation in creating more housing which is what Families Flourish does," Kleit said.
Kleit said other Ohio communities are interested in expanding the program to their areas, including Dayton.
On Saturday, the Families Flourish community will gather at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Upper Arlington to hear stories from its founders, including Kleit and Amy Klaben, the group's president and CEO.
The group was first known as Move To Prosper.
Families Flourish will also celebrate four teens in the program who will be graduating from high schools in Dublin and Gahanna.
