Columbus Dispatch: Legal aid helped to keep a Columbus woman housed. DOGE cuts mean others may not get help

By:  Danae King

While on a fixed income, Sherry McCullough shelled out nearly a full month's extra rent — around $850, paid $85 at a time over 10 months — that she shouldn't have owed her landlord.

Then, she discovered that the "late fee" her landlord was charging was a form of discrimination, thanks to Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio (LASCO).

"All I needed was some grace," said McCullough, who became suddenly disabled a few years ago.

Her disability checks came two weeks into the month, too late to pay rent due on the first of the month.

But, with $850 of her $1,300 monthly income devoted to rent at her Whitehall apartment and another $85 in monthly late fees, McCullough couldn't afford to continue living there.

DOGE, HUD sued after fair housing funding slashed, crippling central Ohio nonprofit

Prior to connecting with Legal Aid, McCullough didn't know what she would do and was afraid there was no recourse. "People just don't know their rights," said the 63-year-old. "That's the sad part."

McCullough is one of hundreds of local people that LASCO has helped over the past few years. Whether sending a letter to a landlord to inform them of tenants' rights, like Legal Aid Attorney Nathan Crowell did for McCullough, or taking cases to court, LASCO has helped central Ohioans fight housing discrimination claims.

But soon, Legal Aid says it may not be able to help people who are being discriminated against because of Trump administration cuts to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding for fair housing initiatives.

On Feb. 27, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ended 78 grants in 33 states totaling more than $30 million in "critical" Congressionally approved funding for fair housing groups, according to the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA).

LASCO is not a named plaintiff but is part of the class covered by a class action lawsuit filed March 13 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against HUD and DOGE.

The email from DOGE to agencies that get the fair housing HUD grants said that the grants were terminated because it "no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities," according to the NFHA.

LASCO has gotten $425,000 annually from HUD fair-housing grants beginning in 2023. LASCO says it needs the funding to help clients like McCullough combat housing discrimination, enforce fair housing laws and educate people on their rights, said Melissa Benson, senior managing attorney of housing at LASCO.

Their work keeps people housed, Benson said.

The federal funding represents 70% of LASCO's fair housing enforcement funding in Columbus, as the city also helps fund LASCO for services to city residents. But in 35 other of the 36 counties it represents, most of which are rural, it's 100% of its fair housing enforcement funding, Benson said.

 LASCO remains the only agency doing fair housing enforcement work in those counties, Benson said.

Since Feb. 27, LASCO has continued its fair housing enforcement work, but if the lawsuit isn't successful, it will have to end in places where there isn't other funding, Benson said.

Crowell, the staff attorney at LASCO, said the majority of his cases involve fair housing and he won't give up.

"Without the HUD funding it will be harder," he said. "We'll keep making the work happen ... but there may be limitations on as much work as we can do."

McCullough has since moved from Whitehall to the North Side and no longer has issues with paying her rent on time. But she still thinks about how Legal Aid helped her.

"I just find it amazing that apartments do that to people who are disabled and living on a budget," McCullough said of the late fee illegally levied against her.

"I was disappointed, really. I was disappointed that they didn't even want to honor it. They didn't care."

Crowell knows it's an all-too-common situation even though it's an "easy fix."

Some landlords know tenants' rights and accommodations they must legally make, but others don't, he said. Either way, tenants often don't know their fair housing rights and don't feel they have any leverage.

That's how McCullough remembers feeling about the $85 fee levied against her each month.

"You have no other option because nobody wants to be homeless, so you conform to what they say because the thought of being homeless is ugly," she said.

"I was thankful Legal Aid was there."