The Hamilton County 513Relief Bus is now helping people apply for unclaimed funds.
Ohio’s unclaimed funds division is holding $4.8 billion from inactive bank accounts, utility bills, and other forgotten sources.
County Commissioner Alicia Reece says nearly $270 million belongs to Hamilton County residents.
But, the application process to claim that money can be complicated.
“People say, ‘Wait a minute — how do I access it?’ So, what we're doing is making it easy for you,” Reece said.
Representatives from the county and the treasurer’s and auditor’s offices will travel with the mobile services bus, and offer support through the necessary paperwork.
“You're not talking to AI, you're not on a 1-800 number, you're not on a computer that you don't understand,” Reece said. “We’ve got a team here of people, experts, that can help walk you through the process so that we could have success rates of people getting the funds.”
Unclaimed funds have been in the news recently. State legislators recently approved a plan to use some of that money to pay for a new stadium for the Cleveland Browns.
Hamilton County Auditor Jessica Miranda says her office is holding about $2 million in local unclaimed funds. People can get help applying for that money through 513Relief Bus, too.
“We hope to have our staff there everywhere the bus goes, so that we can have full participation in this initiative, and hopefully get that $2.02 million down to zero,” Miranda said. “That's the goal."
Where will the 513Relief Bus be?
The bus’s schedule is available online at 513relief.org.
The bus will be in Northside at Bethlehem Temple, 4781 Hamilton Ave., Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. And, it will be at the village of Silverton, 6934 Montgomery Ave., Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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