Our Mission: CMHA helps people access affordable housing through collaborative partnerships to develop, renovate, and maintain housing; promote neighborhood revitalization; and assist residents in accessing needed social services.

Our Vision: A national leader in opening doors to innovative housing for diverse communities, empowering residents and improving neighborhoods.

Our Values:

Community: We value stable households that build neighborhoods and improved the quality of life for the whole community.

Commitment: We serve the community with commitment, integrity, and confidence to meet the challenges of change with a spirit of revitalization in all areas of our work.

Collaboration: We leverage our resources with partners who share our vision and passion. Our teamwork and communication connect all CMHA employees and include all our customers and collaborators.

DEI Statement:

The Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) is committed to improving lives in Central Ohio by ensuring access to housing. We put community first by promoting self-sufficiency and developing programs and services that support well-being, independence and community involvement.

We fully embrace Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and leverage this strategy to create an environment where everyone has equal opportunity to thrive. This intentional effort is foundational to the revitalization of our neighborhoods while making meaningful impact in the lives of others.

To do this, CHMA and our partners will lead inclusively with courage, and practice humility in how we reach more people, mobilize communities, and open additional opportunity for life-changing impact for all.

History:

CMHA had its origin as a result of the stock market crash of 1929 and the subsequent depression. It was a time of chronic unemployment throughout the nation and a time when millions of Americans were hungry and homeless.

In 1934, the Ohio Legislature passed the Ohio Housing Law, which established the Ohio State Board of Housing, which, in turn formed CMHA. However, it was not until 1937, when President Roosevelt signed into law the Federal Housing Act, that funds were made available for CMHA to begin construction of public housing. CMHA operates with federal funds received from the provisions of our Annual Contributions Contract (ACC) with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The first project constructed in Columbus was Poindexter Village, a community built to house over 400 families. It was a modest beginning, but CMHA has grown in the years since. Today CMHA owns over 4,500 units throughout Franklin County. We house families, veterans, seniors, transition aged youth, formerly homeless, and other individuals. We also serve an additional 13,500 plus households through our Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program in Franklin County. In total, we serve over 160,000 people across Ohio & Washington D.C. through our various subsidy programs.

But the real growth of CMHA is not measured in brick and mortar alone. CMHA has been a leader among the nation's housing authorities in developing the kind of programs that "make a house a home." Today CMHA residents enjoy a broad range of recreational, social and educational services, made possible through the cooperation of many community agencies and organizations.

The purpose of CMHA is not only to provide housing, but to also build a healthy community environment in which our residents can live with safety, comfort and dignity.