Columbia Housing Center urges council to fund CSP grants, highlights student rent subsidy and Voucher-to-Keys pilot

Jessamine Duvall, representing the Columbia Housing Center, urged the Howard County Council to adopt the county executive's recommended Community Service Partnership (CSP) grant funding for local nonprofits and described two programs the nonprofit runs with county support.

Duvall said Columbia Housing Center's student rent subsidy program, funded by community renewal funds from the Department of Housing and Community Development, assists up to 50 low- and moderate-income students attending Howard Community College by providing a rent subsidy of up to $800 per month for up to two years while they attend HCC. She said the program is at capacity, has a waiting list and that the first two students who received assistance were graduating in May.

Duvall also described a smaller pilot, funded by an E&O (Emerging Needs and Opportunities) grant, called Voucher to Keys, which offers case management and financial help to housing voucher recipients so they can secure rental units before their vouchers expire. She said current local success rates for voucher holders seeking housing are approximately 50 percent, and that about 79 percent of voucher holders identify as single female heads of household. Duvall described work that includes identifying financial barriers, liaising with landlords and paying costs such as security deposits and moving expenses; she provided an example of a single mother who moved into housing with the program's help shortly before her voucher expired.

Duvall asked the council to fund the CSP and housing department grants as proposed in the executive's FY2026 budget so programs that support students and voucher holders can continue.