COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Franklinton drop-in center for women at risk of sexual exploitation is at the center of a lawsuit filed by the Columbus City Attorney’s Office, and tax payers have been funding the non-profit for years.
Sanctuary Night opened along Sullivant Avenue in May 2022 with the mission of serving vulnerable women and leading them on a path towards recovery.
“It’s honestly the greatest privilege of my life to see women feel loved enough and hopeful enough that they can do something different,” said Hannah Estabrook, Executive Director of Sanctuary Night.
ABC6/FOX28 News previously shared neighbors’ concerns about the drop-in center.
“It is just absolutely a magnet for criminal activity.” said Carla Carr, who lives up the street from Sanctuary Night.
“We have seen just absolutely obscene behavior on the street and chaos reigning for the entire time that they have been open,” said Rebecca Hunley, who lives in Franklinton.
Neighbors also said they don’t support taxpayer dollars funding the organization. Since 2020, the City of Columbus has granted $1,088,680 to Sanctuary Night. The organization has also received federal funding, sponsored by U.S. Representative Mike Carey from Ohio. He secured $700,000 for Sanctuary Night in 2024.
After neighbors voiced their concerns for years, the Columbus City Attorney’s Office filed a lawsuit against the organization on April 30. It asks the judge to declare it a nuisance property and details dozens of examples of illegal and problematic activity on the property including drug use, prostitution, lewdness, and more.
“Based on the evidence and the data that we have, the complaints from neighbors, the 3-1-1 calls, the 9-1-1 calls, the calls for service, the overdoses, the rise in criminal activity, the open air prostitution, the defecating on sidewalks and in people’s yards, the urination in public, all of that together paints a picture that it’s a place that’s a public nuisance,” said Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein.
The Columbus City Attorney’s Office was working on filing an agreed-upon court order with Sanctuary Night, but Klein said after months of trying to work with the organization, his team had no choice but to file the lawsuit.
“It was basically radio silence, and that radio silence is what prompted us to file the lawsuit,” said City Attorney Klein.
In response to the lawsuit, Sanctuary Night leaders said they are deeply saddened and feel it will negatively impact a vulnerable community of women in central Ohio. They also pointed to new rules implemented on March 1, 2025.
“I think our clients are feeling that shift,” said Estabrook. “And as we always say, it’s just difficult to go from looser boundaries to stricter boundaries.”
The new policy that went into effect at the start of March includes that the organization will no longer serve people outside buildings, and meals will only be provided inside with no to-go containers. Also, a maximum of 12 women will be allowed in the drop-in center moving forward. All staff, volunteers, and clients are now required to sign a Good Neighbor Agreement. Finally, if people are gathering on the property without permission, they will be asked to leave and could be placed on a break.
“If there is some kind of fight or issue, could be drug use, could be any number of things, but if it’s on our property, those individuals would be receiving a break from our building,” Estabrook said.
Estabrook also said a security team will be working at the drop-in center three days a week starting May 15.
Neighbors told ABC6/FOX28 News they have not seen improvement since the changes went into place on March 1.
“It’s gotten worse, which is so frustrating, because that’s basically the gas lighting that we experience from them on a regular basis, is they make this whole charade about we’re gonna change all of the stuff, and then we see fights,” said Ryan McKee, who has lived across the street from Sanctuary Night for three years. “We see prostitution. We see the employees literally hanging out and hugging the neighborhood drug dealers.”
ABC6/FOX28 News requested data dating back to the month Sanctuary Night opened its doors on Sullivant Avenue to compare the six weeks before the changes went into effect and the six weeks after. In the six weeks before March 1, there were 10 calls to 9-1-1 and 0 calls to 3-1-1. In the six weeks after March 1, there were 10 calls to 9-1-1 and 17 calls to 3-1-1. That’s according to data from the Columbus Division of Police and Columbus 3-1-1 Service Center.
According to Estabrook, in the weeks following the changes, some clients are not showing up for services like they used to.
“I think we’re just going through some growing pains right now while our clients are adjusting to kind of a new posture,” she said.
Neighbors also sent ABC6/FOX28 News timestamped videos all captured on March 17, more than two weeks after Sanctuary Night implemented its new rules. In the clips, someone is seen walking outside the front door with something in their hand. Three people appear to eat from it. Another video shows a person with a lanyard leaning outside Sanctuary Night’s door giving the middle finger. A third surveillance video captured on March 17 shows a fight spilling from the inside of the drop-in center to outside its front door.
ABC6/FOX28 News showed the video of the fight to City Attorney Zach Klein weeks before his office filed the lawsuit.
“This is exactly why we’re looking to get an enforceable order to hold them accountable,” said Klein.
After filing the lawsuit, Klein said the organization does not get a “free pass.”
“We tried to work with Sanctuary Night for many months, trying to come to a resolution, an agreed upon court order, to help them clean up their act so they can still serve the mission that’s so important to our community, but do it not to the detriment of public safety and threatening the public safety of all the neighbors around there,” Klein said. “They clearly didn’t want to participate with that. “
Estabrook said closing the drop-in center is not the solution.
“I think there’s just more than one story about Sanctuary Night,” said Estabrook. “I would say what is also true is that there, again, are hundreds of women who are accessing harm reduction services because Sanctuary Night is here, and their lives are being made better as a result. And I think it’s important to remember that these women are also our neighbors.”
Sanctuary Night sent the following statement after Klein’s office filed the lawsuit:
“We are deeply saddened by City Attorney Zach Klein’s action today as this is an unnecessary escalation that will negatively impact a vulnerable community of women in central Ohio. Our conversations with the city have been productive up to now and we have made significant changes to address neighborhood concerns, including enhancing security measures and strengthening our code of conduct for the women we serve.
“We work with an at-risk and highly vulnerable population that comes with unique challenges. Over the past few months, we have made progress in addressing issues and will continue working toward solutions that meet the needs of our community, neighbors and most importantly, the women we support.
“In the three years we have been in operation, we have provided 1,202 women with a safe space to access vital and lifesaving resources. We have helped women get off the streets and into stable housing. We have provided access to mental and behavioral health services to women in need, paving the way for a brighter and more stable future for them.
“We are committed to continuing to improve and hope to resolve this situation swiftly for the good of the women in need.”
ABC 6 On Your Side Anchor/Reporter Isabelle Hanson investigates non-profits serving women at risk of sexual exploitation, asking if your tax money is helping these women.
Watch Isabelle’s full report on ABC 6 News Monday, May 5 at 6:00 p .m.
