SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO—On Wednesday, August 23, Family Promise of Summit County cut the ribbon on the first home of its newly formed Survive to Thrive – Destination Homeownership initiative for homeless families with children at a home on Archwood Avenue in Akron’s Firestone Park neighborhood.
Survive to Thrive – Destination Homeownership is a program designed to move qualified families from a homeless situation to a position of owning their home. It is a mission mutual collaborative wherein Family Promise will purchase homes from the Summit County Landbank that have gone into foreclosure. The home is then renovated to be warm, safe, dry, and affordable.
“When a family owns their home, they begin to grow generational wealth, which we know can bring transformational life changes for entire families. Home ownership also provides positive benefits to the family’s physical and mental health”, stated Jeff Wilhite, Executive Director of Family Promise.
Family Promise partnered with several local organizations to launch and operate the program. The Landbank assisted the non-profit in selecting the home for the program. County Executive Ilene Shapiro’s Department of Community Development partnered with Summit County Public Health to rehab the home. Together, the agencies invested $56,000 to remove all lead in the home and install a new HVAC system and insulation. Truly Reaching You, which offers vocational training to individuals re-entering society, provided general contracting for the home renovation.
“Our team was proud to support Family Promise’s Survive to Thrive program. This program will help families build wealth and maintain stability, while also helping rehabilitate neighborhoods through the partnership with the Landbank. We are excited to see this program and these community partnerships grow in the coming months and years,” said County Executive Shapiro.
To help families maintain the home, Habitat for Humanity of Summit and Medina Counties has offered access to its eight-week home maintenance program. Families will learn what is needed to maintain their home, with the goal of preventing a minor repair, like a leaky faucet, from becoming a major repair in the future. East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation has offered their HUD Housing Counseling services to the families to help them make the transition to homeowners. Finally, Community Legal Aid drafted the land contract that will be used in the purchase of the home.
“It was exciting to finally cut the ribbon on this home and to have an opportunity to publicly thank all of the donors, organizations, volunteers and Family Promise friends who have made this initiative possible”, stated Jim Strang, Family Promise Board Chair.
The house will soon be home to a local family experiencing homelessness. Family Promise has established a selection committee for placing a family in a home. The committee is independent of any Family Promise Board Members, employees, or volunteers to ensure fairness.
Family Promise launched the Survive to Thrive program last year to offer a path to homeownership to families in need. A non-profit organization, Family Promise helps homeless families with children stay together and achieve sustainable independence. Learn more at www.familypromisesc.org.
