On Monday, September 17 – 29 Days Ago – Akron City Council voted 8 to 4 to shut down our tent city. “We support people living in safe housing indoors, not tents,” said City Planner Jason Segedy, who crafted the action plan after consulting the CoC. Segedy added that he and the CoC are committed […]
If you have spent any time with me you will have learned that I tend to do things with not a lot of detailed thought. Anybody that lets 40 some people set up tents in his backyard and create their own governmental system based on the principle of “Let’s see what happens” tends to be […]
If you aren’t familiar, today in Akron was “On The Table”. It’s this thing where people all over the city get together and talk about different issues in the city. Not coincidentally, we discussed homelessness at our “On the Table” at The Homeless Charity. All the people (except for me) in our meeting are homeless […]
Today happens to be my birthday. This is the best possible birthday present Destiny could ever get for me. DESTINY GOT INTO HER FOREVER HOME! And it is awesome. She has a brand new refrigerator, stove and carpet. It’s a beautiful open floor plan with 2 bedrooms. This is incredible news because she is due […]
The work we are doing with the homeless has a two pronged approach. The first prong is working with the homeless where they are today. Even though the city is forcing us to close our tent village we have a 4 part strategy moving forward: Extending the hours of our drop-in center. Buying houses to […]
I just got back from this REALLY good meeting with Akron’s Continuum of Care. If you aren’t aware, these are the people and organizations that are tasked with helping the homeless in Akron and Summit County. This meeting was entirely about helping our residents in our village get into housing. The city of Akron has […]
“You know not what you’ve done.” That lack of interest or concern for how the homeless might deal with the imminent closing of our tent community is difficult for me. Imagine dangling off a cliff as the last stone holding you up slowly but surely disintegrates before your feet. Imagine an hour glass slowly but […]
The end of Tent City is NO WAY the end of The Homeless Charity 501(c)(3). We are just getting started in our mission to help the homeless of Akron and our nation. Our steady income from donors like you and grants keep The Homeless Charity in solid financial condition. All our current grants and submitted […]
When you you decide one day to become an activist you have many mentors you can look to for direction. Jesus Gandhi Martin Luther King Jr. John Brown Malcolm X Those were the top figures I researched as I started this journey helping the homeless. While Jesus is the oldest of these mentors, I’ve come […]
On Monday night City Council decided to delay voting on our conditional use permit for our tent city. In poker there is a saying: a chip and a chair. It’s the idea that as long as you have a place at the table and you have at least one chip you are still in the […]