The Second Chance Village in Akron is going away. But the founder of the homeless encampment, and his charity that has been supporting the tent city, are not.
Since Akron city council voted not to allow a zoning variance for Second Chance Village, local realtor and auctioneer Sage Lewis, who sponsored the camp, has been looking for an alternative.
He has an idea on another way to help people who have nowhere to live. “The easiest place to house people is a house. And we have a lot of ‘em. So that’s where I’m really focused…it’s trying to get houses. We’ve got one. I’m hoping we can work something out with the land bank; get a few more. And get these people in there.”
Lewis says Akron tears down about 300 vacant houses annually. He believes if ten of those each year were to be rehabilitated the city’s homeless problem could be largely solved.
