Eight central Ohio organizations that shelter and support victims of domestic violence will share more than half a million dollars in new federal grant money, part of a statewide award announced Oct. 27 by the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services. The office, a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, awarded nearly $4 million in total to 64 domestic violence emergency shelter and support service providers in 46 counties, according to The Columbus Dispatch’s reporting on the announcement.
The eight central Ohio awards listed by The Columbus Dispatch add up to $513,237. The largest local grants went to Haven House of Pickaway County, a domestic violence shelter near Circleville that also provides advocacy, crisis intervention, support and safety planning, at $83,451, and to HelpLine of Delaware and Morrow Counties, which provides crisis support, information and referral services, at $82,000. The Ohio Hispanic Coalition in Columbus, which runs support programs for domestic violence and sexual assault victims, received $80,000.
Three other Columbus-based recipients will put the money to work in Franklin County. The Ohio Domestic Violence Network, described by The Columbus Dispatch as a domestic abuse treatment center in Columbus, received $75,620. The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital received $41,954, and Community Refugee & Immigration Services, which helps refugees and immigrants who are victims of domestic violence reach safety, stability and self-sufficiency, received $35,212.
Two more awards went to organizations serving victims with specific needs outside Columbus. Deaf World Against Violence Everywhere, known as DWAVE, a Worthington nonprofit that provides education and advocacy for deaf victims of domestic violence or abuse, including safety planning, received $60,000. In Licking County, The Woodlands Serving Central Ohio, which operates The Center for New Beginnings, a domestic violence shelter and support program in Newark, received $55,000.
The grants are meant to help community-based, nonprofit organizations provide services for victims of domestic, family and dating violence and for their dependents, according to the Office of Criminal Justice Services announcement reported by The Columbus Dispatch. The funding also includes specialized services for children who have been exposed to such violence, for underserved populations, and for victims who are members of racial and ethnic minorities — a design reflected in central Ohio awards to organizations serving deaf, immigrant, refugee and Hispanic victims.
The money represents the state’s share of 2026 federal Family Violence Prevention and Services Act grant funding, according to The Columbus Dispatch. The awards cover the fiscal year that runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, giving the recipient organizations a full year of program funding for shelter operations and supportive services rather than a one-time payment.
For residents across Delaware, Morrow, Franklin, Licking and Pickaway counties, the awards mean local crisis lines, shelters and advocacy programs will have fresh federal support through next June. The statewide round spreads nearly $4 million across 46 counties, but the central Ohio share keeps more than $513,000 working in the Columbus region.