Summit County Continuum Of Care Working To House Akron's Homeless

Officials in Akron are working to clear out homeless encampments this week – a program which was on hold during the coronavirus pandemic.

At the beginning of the pandemic, shelters closed or limited their capacity to ensure social distancing. Many people suddenly found themselves homeless and living outdoors. Akron had stopped sweeping those tent cities last March, but now says it must respond to safety concerns about the homeless encampments – from residents, property owners, and even railroad officials, since many of the encampments are near train tracks.

Mar-quetta Boddie, who heads the Summit County Continuum of Care, said her agency is working to get hotel vouchers for many of the people who will now be displaced.

“Our sole mission is just to put people in housing. We have nothing to do with all the politics of everything and I know it’s easy to think that's not what it is. But our goal is just to prevent and end homelessness; so everything aside from that is really outside of our mission," Boddie said.

Finding long-term housing can be a challenge for people with mental health issues or a criminal history, she said, and the soaring real estate market is only making that worse right now. She stressed that hotels are an expensive, short-term solution.

“When we put 15 people in a hotel, we have to send somebody up there to provide food. We’ve got to have transportation. We’ve got to make sure nobody is damaging the property up there. It costs a lot of money to do that," Boddie said. "So we don't want the message to be, ‘Go and talk to Community Support Services so you can get a hotel.’ The message should be, ‘Connect with CSS. Let's get you in the shelter and let's get you into housing after that.’”

The Summit County Continuum works with a number of agencies to aid the city's homeless. Boddie invites anyone interested in collaborating to contact her office at 234-312-0833.

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