In 2024, Hamilton County saw an uptick in eviction filings surpassing pre-COVID-19 pandemic numbers, a concerning sign for local residents, who face an eviction rate higher than the nation's average. Princeton University's Eviction Lab highlighted the troublesome stats, painting a stark picture of the county's living conditions.
During an interview with WVXU on Cincinnati Edition, Nick Zingarelli, director of the Hamilton County Help Center and UC Law staffer, shed light on the tightening grip of the housing crisis—Zingarelli, along with attorney Nicholas DiNardo and Tom Hodges of J. Thomas Hodges & Associates indicated that while rents have inflated significantly, wages have not mirrored this increase, leaving many behind. Federal rental assistance, once a buoy during the height of the pandemic, has evaporated, stranding tenants in tumultuous financial waters.
The Hamilton County Help Center, a collaborative initiative involving the UC College of Law, the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts, and other legal and governmental institutions, provides tenants with critical assistance during these trying times. "We are dealing with tenants who are going through a difficult time in their lives and we try to give them whatever assistance we can whether that is giving them information so they can best represent themselves or providing them with limited representation through show cause hearings to help them navigate thru the landscape that connects them with rental assistance," Zingarelli told MirageNews.
As federally sourced rent relief dries up, the Help Center focuses on local government and philanthropic entities to bridge the gap for those on the brink of eviction. Zingarelli emphasized the increasing reliance on these local actors, as per the University of Cincinnati News, "the area will have to depend more on support from local government and area philanthropic organizations to assist a growing number of individuals facing possible eviction." As the narrative around housing insecurity unfolds, community efforts have become more crucial than ever in cushioning the fall for those cast into the relentless cycle of eviction and instability.
