Community Resources

Help is Available for CPS Families

Do you and your family need extra food, or help finding housing or paying electric bills? Do you have questions about what you can do if you are facing eviction from your home? 

There are community resources around Cincinnati to help with all this and more, including assistance with health care, job hunting and transportation. Cincinnati Public Schools wants to help, too, by making it easier for families to find these needed resources.

We've collected a list of local resources, which we will update as needed.

Food Resources

• Community Action Agency Mobile Food Pantry
• The Caring Place of Cincinnati
• Freestore Food Bank
• Healthy Harvest Mobile Market
• La Soupe
  • ​ Printable flier for free meals on Mondays.
• Jobs and Family Service: apply for food, medical and cash assistance. Call (513) 946-1000
• Monday Meal Boxes at Public Library Branches 
• The Madisonville Education and Assistance Center (MEAC)
• Produce Pop Ups (Sponsored by the Freestore Foodbank in partnership with Anthem Blue Cross adn Blue Shield):
  • Tuesday, February 9, beginning at 11 a.m. at The Welcome Project, 2936 Colerain Avenue.
  • Wednesday February 17, beginning at 11 a.m. at Community Action Agency, 1740 Langdon Farm Road.
  • Monday, February 22, beginning at Noon at Tyred Stone Church, 5550 Reading Road.
  • Thursday, February 25, beginning at 3 p.m. at Corinthian Baptist Churhc, 1920 Tennessee Avenue.
  • For more information, contact Sharon Watkins at (513) 924-2021
• CPS' Remote Meals

Housing 

Do you need help with finding housing or shelter? 

• Central Access Point (CAP) is a referral service for placement in emergency or transitional shelter. Call (513) 381-SAFE (7233); email.
• Community Action Agency — Hamilton County Eviction Prevention Program: (513) 569-1840, Option 4
• Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority
• Cincinnati Department of Community Development — Rental and home-buying resources. Call (513) 352-6264
• Caring Place Of Cincinnati — Get rent assistance, housing counseling and more. Call (513) 841-1499, residents of Golf Manor, Kennedy Heights, Pleasant Ridge and Silverton Ohio 
• Apply for CARES Act Rent and Utility Assistance Program — The Hamilton County CARES Rent and Utility Relief Program draws on CARES Act funds to provide short term assistance to renters who live in Hamilton County and can document income loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The County will pay up to $5,000 for rent and utilities for households at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income.

Are you at risk of being or have you been evicted? Do you want to know your legal rights when experiencing homelessness? 

• Project Connect — provides support to families who have been displaced from their housing by eliminating educational barriers and providing services for children and youth, such as transportation, enrollment, backpacks, school supplies and uniforms. Project Connect also informs families about and advocate for the federal McKinney-Vento laws enacted to protect the education of students experiencing homelessness. Refer a family to Project Connect.
• Legal Aid Society Of Greater Cincinnati assists tenants with housing issues. This can include advice on eviction and homeless prevention services, disputes over deposits and unsafe housing or apartments. Lawyers from the pro-bono firm help qualified low income residents of Hamilton County. (513) 241-9400
  • Legal Aid Temporary Halt on Evictions (PDF)
• Mercy Franciscan at St. John — By appointment only. Call (513) 981-5800. Support is offered only if applicant has an eviction notice from house or apartment, and the applicant must also have a family. 
• St. Vincent de Paul Eviction Prevention — (513) 562-8842, ext. 771
• Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless — Provides advocacy and education about affordable housing. Can serve as a mailing address for those without one. Helps with tenant organizing. 
• Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME) — Fights housing discrimination and provides education on housing rights for families and individuals. 

Utilities

• Greater Cincinnati Water Works Debt Forgiveness Program will help customers avoid water shutoffs at their home. Customers must demonstrate they are experiencing economic hardship due to COVID-19 or be at or below specified income levels. GCWW will forgive past-due amounts related to water and City of Cincinnati stormwater services accrued during the pandemic, from March 1, 2020, through September 30, 2020. All applications must be submitted by March 31, 2021 to qualify.
• Duke Energy Bill Assistance — Customers can move their due dates, pay over many months, and/or qualify for assistance from various government agencies and nonprofit programs. 
  • The  Salvation Army has funding for Duke Assistance with a Heat Share Hotline for assistance, call (513) 762-5636. (Must be on disconnect or final past due.)
•  JFS Project Lift — Project Lift Application (513) 946-1000. Can help with deposit, first month rent and the like.
• Christ's Community in College Hill provides rent assistance once per month. Call (513) 541-0303 
• Freestore Foodbank Rent & Utilities Assistance — (513) 241-1064; 112 E Liberty St, Cincinnati, OH 45202. 
• The Madisonville Education and Assistance Center (MEAC) serves the following zip code areas only: 45208, 45209, 45226 and 45227. MEAC provides emergency financial assistance payments for rental/mortgage, gas and electric services, or water when funds are available. Eligibility requirements need to be met for rent and other help. MEAC also provides assistance with obtaining birth certificates and has food pick-up sites. For more information, call (513) 271-5501
• Interparish Ministries is located at 3509 Debolt Road. There may be limited financial aid for paying rent or utility or security deposits to families facing homelessness. Other support is provided too, such as furniture or referrals. Call (513) 561-3932 
• Guardian Angels SVDP — 6531 Beechmont Avenue— offers financial assistance for paying both rent and even utility bills. Call (513) 624-3147
• Churches Active In Northside (CAIN) — supports the immediate region. There may be rental or energy assistance, referrals to non-profits that may have security deposit programs and help in applying for section 8 HUD rental vouchers. Call (513) 591-2246
• Hamilton County Job and Family Services Prevention/Retention/Contingency (PRC) — PRC-Emergency assistance — (513) 946-0000 or (513) 946-7200.

Transportation

• Free Transportation resources (PDF)

Health

• CPS' School-based Community Health Centers
• AWL Clinic Hours
• School-Based Vision and Dental Locations

Jobs, Childcare or Unemployment

• Job search support — Ohio Means Jobs 
• Unemployment applications, unemployment.ohio.gov, and benefits.ohio.gov
• 4C for Children — Find childcare and pandemic approved centers. Call 1-800-256-1296, ext. 1330

COVID-19 Resources

• Back to School Resources

Miscellaneous Expenses

• United Way: Covid-19 Community Economic Relief Fund — Bills, rent and food. Call 1-866-211-9966
• Jobs and Family Service — apply for food, medical and cash assistance. Call (513) 946-1000
• St. Vincent de Paul — Call (513) 562-8841 (Donation centers are closed) food Pantry, medical and id/birth certificate services are open. Call (513) 421-CARE (2273). General support, furniture. 
• Salvation Army — Covid Support Hotline: 1-844-458-HOPE (4673) If you're looking for spiritual guidance, local services or if you just need someone to talk with, Salvation Army officers who are pastors and emotional-care personnel are there to listen.