The median rental price in Springfield, Ohio, jumped by nearly 44% in September compared to 2023, Zillow data shows.
The median rental price in Springfield was $900 in September 2024 but has now spiked to $1,295 – over a 40% increase, according to Zillow’s data. A dramatic influx of Haitian migrants overwhelmed the city, and some residents claim the government is subsidizing the migrant’s housing.
A homeless advocate in Springfield stated at a city council meeting Sept. 10 that the government was subsidizing housing for Haitians.
“I don’t know of a single homeless Haitian in this town because they all got vouchers,” the man claimed. “But I can show you a whole bunch of people who have been displaced.”
“There is not any relief for the homeless,” he said, adding that he’s worked with the local homeless community for 25 years. He further claimed that he personally knows someone who lived in a house for seven years but was forced to move out after the landlord told him the house was going to be remodeled.
“It was a lie. They moved him out, tripled the rent,” he said. “Follow the money.”
This is an absolutely insane video.
A Springfield, Ohio homeless advocate tells the city council that landlords are kicking people out of their homes and replacing them with Haitians and that the Biden-Harris government is paying them to do it.
He says he personally knows… pic.twitter.com/edNKl4tpDz
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 12, 2024
One woman claimed the surge in Haitians were displacing low-income renters out of the neighborhood and that they were receiving assistance from the government.
“They get assisted living freely,” she told journalist Tyler Oliveira. “It makes it harder for people like me or somebody else who doesn’t get assisted living to find affordable housing at a decent rate.”
The woman stated that the migrants were driving up the costs of housing. “It’ll be a surprise if I don’t get kicked out so they can boost the rate on this place. They’ll probably fix it, get it to where it’s looking better and boost the rate up on it.”
🚨 BREAKING:
SPRINGFIELD, OHIO UPDATELocal mother and resident of 7+ years says that the 20,000+ Haitians are outpricing and pushing low-income renters like her out of the neighborhood with money from assisted living, food stamps, and other government aid.
She says she’ll… pic.twitter.com/MzFB25cF7S
— Tyler Oliveira (@tyleraloevera) September 10, 2024
“I’m upset at the fact we didn’t get a chance to have an infrastructure in place if there were going to be 20,000 more people from 2020 to 2025,” Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said at a City Commission Meeting in July, according to the Springfield News-Sun.
Republican Governor of Ohio Mike DeWine announced Tuesday he would send law enforcement and funding for healthcare resources to Springfield, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
He also said that he does not oppose the Temporary Protected Status Program (TPS) that around 15,000 Haitians have arrived in Springfield under, but that the federal government needs to provide more assistance to the affected communities.
