Take The Dollar Challenge. See if you can make it all the way to the end of this article without giving us $1.

GO HERE TO DONATE YOUR DOLLAR.
As a business owner you learn to stop whining and complaining about what this administration is doing or what that politician is enacting.
All you have are the rules. The rules change all the time. If you want to survive you play by the new rules. You can complain all you want. But that’s not going to do you any good.
As you might imagine, the rules are changing, rather significantly, from a Liberal President to a Conservative President.

Trump FY18 Budget Calls for Massive Cuts to Affordable Housing Programs: National Low Income Housing Coalition
The administration would slash federal investments in affordable housing at HUD by nearly 17%, or $7.7 billion, compared to FY17.  The proposed cuts could mean more than 250,000 people could lose their housing vouchers. It would also impose punitive measures that would jeopardize family stability – increasing the financial burdens they face through higher rents and ending support to help cover the cost of basic utilities, like water and heat.

This is the philosophy of conservatives.
Just recently Paul Ryan was asked by a nun how he squared his Catholic understanding of helping the poor with his Conservatism. He said:
Paul Ryan Faces Off with Catholic Nun at CNN Town Hall About Healthcare

And for me, the preferential option for the poor, which is something that’s a key tenet of Catholic faith, that means upward mobility, that means economic growth, that means equality of opportunity.

I don’t think I’m being too bold to say that the philosophy of the current President, Senate and House is: We make it too easy for the poor to stay poor AND the government isn’t here to take care of the poor.
They believe that by giving the poor too much they are making it too easy to stay poor. They also believe that it isn’t the job of government to take care of the poor.
I’m not angry at that. I’m not judgmental of that. I’m simply trying to understand the lay of the land. If you feel that I’m incorrectly judging the current government please let me know in the comments below.
But if we can agree that’s the situation then this article is for you. And this is why you need to give us $1.
Please take a minute (literally 60 seconds) to watch Keith’s testimonial on his experience with us. He’s moving back to Indiana now. He’s got his CDL and will start driving again soon.

“Second Chance Village gives people a second chance so they can clean up the past so they can move forward.” – Keith

On not making the homeless too comfortable.

I saw the head of the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carsan, tour some HUD facilities in Columbus Ohio.
This is his quote:
Don’t Make Housing for the Poor Too Cozy, Carson Warns – The New York Times

Compassion, Mr. Carson explained in an interview, means not giving people “a comfortable setting that would make somebody want to say: ‘I’ll just stay here. They will take care of me.’”

Well, we’ve got that covered.
The people in the Second Chance Village live 24/7 in the cheapest tents we can find. They cost $50, maximum.
The zippers break. They leak. They are too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.
I will say that we may have over done the coziness of them by giving these people old pallets to put their tents on and sometimes, if we have them, we give them tarps to put over their tents to keep out the inevitable leaks.
But fear not. Many times we don’t have pads to put their blankets on (we almost never have actual sleeping bags). So they have to sleep directly on the slats of the pallets.
Our pallets often come to us looking a lot like this:

So, while it’s true that we’ve gotten most people up off the ground, the broken nature of the pallets are still quite uncomfortable.
We have 2 porta potties for 30 people to use. Granted, that’s pretty comfy considering we used to make them all use 1 porta potty.
But being that they only get cleaned out once a week they get really smelly for at least 3 or 4 days. You pretty much are assured of gagging every time you use them. We don’t have men’s and women’s porta potties. Everyone uses the same ones.
About one third of our residents are women.
They have no running water by their tents. They have no electricity.
The fire department has demanded that no open flames are permitted what so ever. So there is never a camp fire. Nor are they permitted to use tiki torches. So, when the sun goes down it’s lights out.
Winter is coming. That should continue to add to their discomfort. We certainly don’t have year round tents. We could never afford those. We’re mostly hoping some donations of more blankets will come through.
And, as I mentioned above, you don’t have to worry about them cuddling around a cozy campfire when the temperature dips below freezing. We aren’t allowed to have fires. Just blankets, if we get enough donated.
Just cold and darkness. After 5pm it will be just darkness and cold.
It should be like that for a good 4 solid months.
You are always more than welcome to come visit some time. I’d love to show you around. I assure you I’m not over exaggerating any of this.
Just the same, our people are thankful to have a place that is stable and secure.
Stability, security and dignity are the only extravagances we afford our residents.
I can understand if you feel that’s too much. But that’s where we draw the line in eliminating society comforts.

On not being the job of the government.

I’ve met with the people in the government who give out money to the homeless. They flat out told me that there is no place in their program for what we do.
So, I can’t imaging ever seeing a dime from the government.
That means that this tent city we’ve made must exist on private funds. It’s on my private land being paid for by working families’ private money.
We’ve never gotten a grant. But maybe some day we will. Although, I’m not exactly holding my breath. Magically getting a grant is not my marketing plan. If it happens, great.
But otherwise we grind out our money. My wife supports our family and private investors are slowly supporting our Second Chance Village.
But we’re still easily $2000/month in the hole. That’s being covered also by my wife’s income.
I’m building up my auction business and we’re also building out services and products we can sell that are made and offered by the homeless that live with us.
So, you don’t have to feel bad that you are contributing to a non-profit that’s getting fat off the money of government programs.
“Fat” is nowhere near where we are currently. We are just in survival mode.
So, this charity is everything a conservative could ever dream of.
Incredibly sparse living that no one would ever want to spend any more time at than is absolutely necessary. And it’s all run by private money.
Here’s the pitch: I NEED YOUR DOLLAR!!!!
GO HERE TO DONATE YOUR DOLLAR.
I don’t need $5. I don’t need $10. I need $1.
On top of that, when you donate $1 you will get inside information that is only available to members.
I know some dirt poor people. I’m talking: no photo id, no food stamps, no social security, no disability, no income at all. Zero. Zilch. Nada.
AND THEY CAN AFFORD TO GIVE $1.
GO HERE TO DONATE YOUR DOLLAR.
YOU can afford to give $1.
What’s your excuse?
Do you still feel you’d be throwing away your hard earned dollar on lazy, no good losers?
Everyone at our facility is only allowed to be at our facility if they agree to be moving forward in some way. Quit drinking. Quit drugs. Go to your doctor. Work on your resume. Get a job. Get a house.
If you aren’t moving forward we kick you out.
Your dollar is not going to lazy people. Your dollar is going to people that fell through all the cracks in society. All they are asking for is a place to sleep so they can get back on their feet.
That’s it.
There is no one that is more deserving and more needing your dollar than the people at the Second Chance Village.
I don’t mean to be rude here. But what is it that you can rationalize not giving us $1?
Are you too lazy? Are you too selfish?
What?
Here is a testimonial from another one of our residents, Cloud:

GO HERE TO DONATE YOUR DOLLAR.
If you are a Conservative I’m giving you EXACTLY what you’ve asked for.

• A very sparse, uncomfortable living situation for the poorest of the poor.
• A totally privately funded organization completely outside of the government. (If anything, the government would rather we not do what we’re doing.)

GO HERE TO DONATE YOUR DOLLAR.
If you are a Liberal: PLEASE help me. The government is abandoning the poor like rats off a sinking ship. Without a doubt, homelessness is going to get worse and the suffering is going to increase the next 4 years. We need you so much.
GO HERE TO DONATE YOUR DOLLAR.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE.
GO HERE TO DONATE YOUR DOLLAR.

“The Red Cross emailed me this morning. They want me to come to Houston.”
That was the conversation Rocky, my wife, and I had this morning.
Rocky is, among other things, certified with the Red Cross in emergency sheltering.
She’s worked with them and worked on various certifications with them for years.
When you sign up for the Red Cross this is what you think it’s going to be. Traveling the world helping in the biggest disasters of your time.
What it really is is going out in the middle of the night to some country town an hour away in the middle of winter to help with a house fire.
The Red Cross is huge in helping with house and apartment fires. They often use a portion of the money they get from big disasters like today’s Houston flooding to help with these house fires. They give out gift cards for hotels, supplies and furniture.
It’s disasters like the one we’re experiencing right now in Houston that bring out the best in people.

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

That is powerful advice from Mr. Rogers.
In my own work I see the greatness in people every single day. There are so many people that are good, caring and generous. It’s actually humbling to see.
But sometimes the help can become somewhat of a difficulty.
My friend Marcia Marshall shared a story: ​When disaster relief brings anything but relief – CBS News
The story reports that right after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre they started getting teddy bears.
And how many teddy bear came to Newtown? “I think it was about 67,000,” Kelsey said. “Wasn’t limited to teddy bears. There was also thousands of boxes of school supplies, and thousands of boxes of toys, bicycles, sleds, clothes.”
“Generally after a disaster, people with loving intentions donate things that cannot be used in a disaster response, and in fact may actually be harmful,” said Juanita Rilling, director of the Center for International Disaster Information in Washington, D.C. “And they have no idea that they’re doing it.”
Now… let me be clear. This is in no way meant to make a person feel bad or get discouraged in giving. The giving nature of Americans is one of our absolute greatest qualities.
I just wanted to put this article together to offer some giving tips.
The first thing to do is to do a little research. I just did a search for “What donations does Houston need?”
Here are two articles I found:
Hurricane Harvey: Where you can donate to help with disaster relief and recovery – Vox
How to help Houston after Hurricane Harvey – SBNation.com

SOUTH TEXAS BLOOD & TISSUE DONATION: You can donate here. Local residents can also donate blood in person.

TEXAS DIAPER BANK: You can donate here.

HOUSTON SPCA: You can donate here. (SPCA is an animal shelter and is also taking in stray or displaced pets.)

CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANK: You can donate here.

SAN ANTONIO FOOD BANK: You can donate here. Many displaced Houston residents will be relocated to San Antonio.

COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS: An umbrella organization coordinating shelters and organizations across Houston. You can donate here.

AirBNB: The hospitality company is working to coordinate people in need of a place to stay with people willing to offer a free room. More information here.
If you have food and clothes and money these places will likely take your stuff.
But what if you want to do more? 
Many people want to get involved personally. They want to go directly to the source.
This is where it gets tricky.
Rocky tells me stories of people that will show up at the Red Cross during an emergency and want to help. That is not the time to show up to the Red Cross.
If this emergency inspires you to help with the Red Cross I strongly encourage you to talk with the Red Cross (in a week or two, after this tragedy) and start the process of becoming a volunteer. Click here to go to their page on becoming a volunteer for the Red Cross. 
Boat owners asked to help in Houston rescues – WXYZ.com

Emmett, who oversees government operations in Harris County, where Houston is located, says, “We desperately need boats and high water vehicles … We can’t wait for assets to come from outside.”

If you have a small boat you might be able to help.
During the BP oil spill nightmare I went to Louisiana to cover that tragedy as a photographer.
There were many people that came as free agents to help.
There was a guy that came down to try to rescue sea turtles.
There was a group that brought pet food down to the area.
Here is a photo I took of one of the pet food people at the Gulf Oil Spill:

But the key was that none of these people were improvising. They knew what they were doing. They had some sort of infrastructure in place for when a disaster strikes. Or at least they had stuff on hand before they showed up.
Here’s the thing: You can always rely on the fact that another disaster will be right around the corner.
If the Houston flooding inspires you to physically help then use this as an inspiration to be ready to help the next time around.
Otherwise, try to be sensitive to what the needs are at this point.
Don’t send winter coats to a tropical island in the summer. Don’t send perishable food to a place without electricity. Don’t send toys to pretty much any disaster area.
And when in doubt, send money. I know it’s not sexy. And I know you are concerned that it might just go to a bloated infrastructure.
But the fact is, we need the Red Cross. It’s not like someone else is waiting in the wings to take over all the work the Red Cross does.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE MONEY TO THE RED CROSS.

Steve, Jon and Ronnie are directly responsible for saving the life of one of our residents from an overdose last week.
Because this is a sensitive topic, I’m going to save the details of the encounter for the members only content area.
But let me just say this: I know you all don’t think you did much. I know you don’t think you are heroes.
You saved that man’s life.
I truly believe our community made it possible for you to see something that was wrong and act on it immediately.
Thank you!
I go into the details of what exactly happened and who Steve, Jon and Ronnie are in the members only area.
Membership is only $1/month. Click here to sign up and read the full article.

On 3 different occasions I’ve had volunteers from the outside become quite upset with our facility.
I just took a call from a great volunteer that was upset because people didn’t greet her warmly yesterday. She said it felt “dead” at our facility.
This article has sensitive, internal working’s information in it. I’m making it a member’s only article. If you are interested in what is going on with this topic please consider becoming a member.
Membership is only a $1/month.
Click here to get access to the full article.

By clicking that link you will be taken to the article and asked to become a member. You will then get instant access to the article.

I was reading about an idea someone had on Reddit:
A way to help the homeless more effectively : nonprofit
He writes:

So. My idea.
What if there were a network of small towns around the US where the economy is working and housing is cheap? Towns like the one I grew up in.
And what if there were an organization that could provide connections with people in these small towns – people who could help you find your footing, connect you with community programs in the local town?

Basically, he’s saying what would happen if we moved the homeless out of expensive towns and moved them to cheaper towns?
I’m hesitant to say that it’s absolutely a great idea. But that’s simply because I haven’t seen it work.
I will say that I really like the idea. And therefore think it needs to be tried.
I don’t know of anyone else in Akron that is brave enough to make this statement so I’ll just say it:
Send your homeless to Akron!
Our homeless infrastructure is quite good. We have shelters, feedings every night of the week, a lot of mental and physical health support systems as well as detox facilities.
I’ll also say something else slightly provocative: There is money in homelessness.
Charitable Giving in America: Some Facts and Figures | NCCS

Giving by individuals makes up the vast majority of contributions received by nonprofit organizations. Giving USA 2015 estimates that individual giving amounted to $258.51 billion in 2014, an increase of 7.1 percent in current dollars from 2013. This accounts for 72 percent of all contributions received in 2014.

By standing up, being brave and having a heart I absolutely, 100% believe people will support this cause.
This is what I know about the homeless:
They are in a rough patch of their lives.
They are trying to get back in the game one way or another. You simply can’t live long as a raging alcoholic or drug addict. They know it. So the vast majority are working on getting past this point in their lives.
And then you have just expanded your workforce. Now you have people that want to work. I know that’s the case because I see it everyday.
On top of that, if other cities send us their homeless we are going to get skilled people. The notion that homeless people are worthless bums is just plain wrong. All the homeless come with a back story. And that back story usually involves a career that entailed specific skills.
Akron has the ability to take these people and help them get back into society.
On top of that, this is being done already. Communities all around us are shuttling homeless to Akron. We already are a homeless destination locally. We might as well be a homeless destination nationally.

The cost of housing in Akron is 45% lower than the national average.

Cost Of Living In Akron, OH

• The cost of living in Akron is 8% lower than the Ohio average.
• The cost of living in Akron is 16% lower than the national average.
• The cost of housing in Akron is 45% lower than the national average.
• Ohio general sales tax is 13% higher than the national average. Ohio state income tax is 76% lower than the national average.

Conversely:
Cost Of Living In San Francisco, CA

The cost of housing in San Francisco is 255% higher than the national average.

These high rent cities simply can’t cost effectively deal with homelessness.
I think it’s very possible we could even get money directly from these cities that send us their homeless.
This business model is very viable in my opinion.
Additionally, we can keep the homeless in specific areas of the city. We can keep them out of downtown and the west side. The east side has plenty of room for more homeless. The abandoned homes are endless over here.
The downside to the Midwest in general is that most of us are conservative in our risk taking. There is a significant level of fear.
I’m just not one of those people. I’m a risk taker and I’m not afraid. I see this as a huge opportunity for Akron to become one of the kindest, supportive cities in America. And in doing so we can show that a model of giving is very lucrative and desirable for a city.
Money will come to Akron. Smart, caring people will come to Akron. Innovation will come to Akron.
I’m telling you: the homeless bring the best and brightest to the table. I see it every day on a local scale. By being the national center for homelessness we will see more businesses move into Akron and we’ll see young people move to Akron. All to be part of this highly innovative concept.
So, put your homeless on a bus.
They can go to the Haven of Rest the first night.
Address: 175 E Market St, Akron, OH 44308
Phone: (330) 535-1563
Then come see us at The Homeless Charity and Second Chance Village the next day:
15 Broad St., Akron, OH 44305
Phone: 330-415-7519
While America might not currently believe this, Akron believes this:

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

This has always been the secret to our success in America. I absolutely believe it can be the secret to our success in Akron.