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Council approves $500,000 grant to Volunteers of America for family‑focused recovery facility
Summary
Columbus City Council approved an affordable housing bond grant of up to $500,000 to help complete construction of Volunteers of America’s Fresh Start Recovery Center, a residential treatment facility that allows mothers to remain with their children during recovery.
Columbus City Council on Feb. 3 approved an up to $500,000 grant from the Affordable Housing Bond Fund to help complete construction of Volunteers of America’s family‑focused recovery facility, the Fresh Start Recovery Center.
The facility is designed to allow mothers and their children to reside together during substance‑use treatment. Jennifer Martinez, vice president of behavioral health operations for Volunteers of America Ohio and Indiana, told council the program will not limit the age or number of children accompanying a parent and is intended to reduce barriers to treatment for families.
“Support for this ordinance will be used to finalize construction on VOA’s Fresh Start Recovery Center, which as mentioned, is designed as a residential treatment facility for women and their children,” Martinez said. She said the program emphasizes health equity, is intended to shorten NICU stays for newborns exposed to substances, reduce foster placements and improve birth outcomes.
The city’s ordinance (0129‑2025) amends the 2024 capital improvement budget and authorizes a grant agreement with Volunteers of America, Ohio and Indiana in an amount up to $500,000 to assist construction of the facility. The sponsor said the funding fills the final funding gap to bring the project to construction completion. Council adopted the ordinance on a roll call vote.
Volunteers of America has operated similar family‑centric residential programs in Indiana and says this will be its first such facility in Ohio. The presenter said the program was developed with community stakeholders and includes outreach to historically underserved groups, with a focus on accessibility for women of color and other populations.
Council members who spoke in support described the project as filling a gap in the local recovery system by enabling families to remain together during treatment. The ordinance authorizes reimbursement of eligible construction expenditures incurred beginning Jan. 1, 2024, and allows the city to finalize the grant agreement.
