Summit County Opioid Healing Fund awards nearly $450K in fourth round of grants
Akron Community Foundation's board of directors approved 32 grants totaling $445,000 to nonprofit organizations supporting Summit County residents directly impacted by the opioid epidemic. This is the fourth round of grants from the Summit County Opioid Healing Fund, which was established in 2021 by the Opiate Abatement Advisory Council using settlement funds from Summit County's federal opioid trial. A total of nearly $1.2 million has so far been awarded. County Executive Ilene Shapiro and County Council approved the latest round of funding in June.
"Akron Community Foundation continues to be an incredible partner in our efforts to abate the opiate epidemic in Summit County," said County Executive Shapiro. "Through this fund, we are empowering smaller, grassroots organizations to provide critical support and resources to residents struggling with substance use, as well as their families and friends helping them on their recovery journey."
Grants from this fund are targeted primarily to organizations not currently being funded by the Summit County ADM Board, and for programs that offer peer support services, recovery-oriented services, and community-based recovery events.
Funding will include a grant to Broken Chains Ministry to support Lydia's Home, a peer-based, residential recovery program for women in Summit County.
"The thing that brought about this grant this year, we call the Lydia's Home Access to Recovery Program: it's to help those that are graduating from Lydia's home to obtain suitable transportation, to buy a car, utilities, and all the things that they're going to need when they move into their own apartment," said Dennis Shawhan, executive director of Broken Chains Ministry, which helps men and women transition from incarceration back into the community.
The following grants were approved during this round:
3R Foundation, to support the Better Together Initiative, $10,000
AxessPointe Community Health Centers, to help community members with substance use disorders, $20,000
Battered Women's Shelter, for care coordination for survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking with substance use disorder, $12,500
Broken Chains Jail & Prison Ministry, to support Lydia's Home Access to Recovery Program, $20,000
CASA Board Volunteer Association, to provide advocacy services for youth who have been exposed to substance use and to connect their parents with recovery and support services, $10,000
Catholic Charities, Diocese of Cleveland, to support the Breaking Free Project, $10,000
Compass North Church, to enlarge the reach of A Walk in Their Shoes and Celebrate Recovery, $12,500
Deborah Anointing Foundation, to support women with substance use disorder by providing a safe and stable recovery house, as well as mentorship and education programs, $10,000
Freedom House for Women, Inc., to support the Courage to Change program, $15,000
Hand 2 Hand Inc., to support The Tree of Life event, where families who have lost a loved one to overdose can plant a tree in their memory, $2,500
Hope Farm Inc., to provide food to unhoused individuals who are in active addiction, $7,500
JoAnna House II Inc.,for peer recovery services and preventions, $12,500
Keys to Serenity, to support the Family Program, which provides family-focused support, assistance and events for children and their parents/caregivers struggling with addiction, $25,000
Legacy III, Inc., to provide permanent supportive housing to unhoused women who are recovering from addiction, $15,000
Life of Recovery Sober Housing, to support opioid and addiction recovery housing for women in Akron, $10,000
MODE - Miracles Occur Days Enriched, to support recovery services for individuals struggling with substance use disorder, $5,000
Ohio Domestic Violence Network, to improve services to DV survivors with substance use issues and mental health needs, $10,000
OhioCAN Change Addiction Now, to provide individuals in recovery with financial management strategies, $12,500
Rachel's Angels, to provide prevention presentations to middle and high school students, $10,000
Rape Crisis Center, to increase support for survivors of sexual violence with co-occurring substance use disorders, $12,500
Reentry Coalition of Summit, Portage, & Medina, to support the Summit County Citizen Circle, $25,000
relink.org, to analyze and capture data from the Better Together Summit Co. network of organizations offering addiction recovery services, $20,000
Restore Addiction Recovery, for community outreach and engagement, $20,000
Safe Harbor Norton, for continuing education, housing scholarship and transportation support, $20,000
Sarah's House Inc., to provide older adults with information related to addiction as well as opportunities for social activities, $15,000
South Street Ministries, for operations of Restoration House, $25,000
Summit Recovery Hub, to support Recovery On Purpose: Recovery Endurance Support Meeting & Community Recovery Events, $25,000
The Packard Institute, Inc., for peer recovery support targeting underserved youth, $15,000
Truly Reaching You, for reentry and addiction recovery support services for men, $10,000
Truth & Honor, to provide job and life skills training to individuals undergoing recovery and support services, $12,500
Voices for Voices, to support Project Purple, which educates, amplifies and recognizes those who provide peer support and recovery-oriented services to residents of Summit County, $5,000
Women Revived Ministries, for Total Life Wellness In Recovery, $10,000
About Akron Community Foundation
Celebrating 68 years of building community philanthropy, Akron Community Foundation embraces and enhances the work of charitable people who make a permanent commitment to the good of the community. In 1955, a $1 million bequest from the estate of Edwin Shaw established the community foundation. It is a philanthropic endowment of nearly $278 million with a growing family of more than 830 funds established by charitable people and organizations from all walks of life. The community foundation and its funds welcome gifts of all kinds, including cash, bequests, stock, real estate, life insurance and retirement assets, just to name a few. To date, the community foundation's funds have awarded nearly $227 million in grants to qualified nonprofit organizations. For more information about Akron Community Foundation or to learn more about creating your own charitable fund, call 330-376-8522 or visit akroncf.org.