COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A social media post from the richest man in the world has leaders of a local organization worried about its future.
Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio helps some of this city’s most vulnerable people including those experiencing homelessness and domestic violence victims. Elon Musk, the newly appointed head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), posted Sunday on X, formerly Twitter, saying he will shut down federal grant funding to them and other Lutheran charities.
Rachel Lustig, president/CEO of Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio, said the loss of this grant money would impact its ability to provide many services.
“It is a little bit scary to see your name on any list that says we’re going to shut down these programs,” Lustig said.
She said the organization has used $16 million in federal grant money at its health care center for years, allowing it to give the city’s homeless population access to healthcare services. Without the funding, Lutheran Social Services’ ability to assist other vulnerable people in central Ohio would be impacted.
“That would impact our ability to connect people to services, to provide food assistance, to provide our domestic violence services, to provide our emergency shelter, to help people get into affordable housing,” Lustig said. “You think of what’s going on in central Ohio right now with affordable housing, with a spike in domestic violence.”
LSS Choices program provides the only domestic violence shelter in Franklin County. Columbus Division of Police data shows domestic violence felony cases have been on the rise for two consecutive years.
Lustig said federal grants make up 70% of LSS grant funding.
Last weekend, a former advisor to President Donald Trump, General Michael Flynn, made a post on X questioning Lutheran Family Services use of federal grant money, specifically naming LSS Central Ohio. Musk then reposted it saying, “The DOGE team is rapidly shutting down these illegal payments.”
“It was a big surprise to me to see that this was one of the programs that they would highlight,” Lustig said.
She said that at this time, she has not been given any official word the funding will be pulled.
“I think everybody needs to be worried as far as defending and making the case why their government funding they receive is vitally important and needs to continue,” Republican strategist Matt Dole said.
Dole said DOGE has a tough job ahead and has to cut somewhere.
“We have a $36 trillion national debt and a $2 trillion budget deficit, So it needs to be done and everybody acknowledges that, but nobody wants it to be their project that is cut in the process,” he said.
Dole said it will be a painful process but said DOGE will be vital to the country’s success.
“I think this is key,” he said. “We have to be really careful about what people say in the moment in a tweet or an X post. I think we have to be real careful about that.”
Lustig said LSS of Central Ohio helps around 80,000 people a year and if the federal grant money does get cut, she worries for many people in the city.
“We will do our absolute best to continue to serve people who are in need in our community through the health care, housing and emergency assistance services that we have, but having a partner like the federal government makes it possible for us to do so much more,” Lustig said.
Lustig said federal grants make up 70% of LSS grant funding.
