AKRON, Ohio — Providing shelter for people experiencing homelessness is an ongoing effort across the nation.
According to The Department of Housing and Urban Development, there are over 11,000 Ohioans who are homeless.
“In 2023 we had a 66% rate of success of people exiting to permanent housing and the national average is 44% so we feel really good about the work we do,” Hemsworth said.
Jackie Hemsworth is the executive director of ACCESS Shelter in Akron, which provides shelter to women and children experiencing homelessness.
“The ultimate goal for everyone is to exit with a permanent place to stay,” Hemworth said.
And for the last 40 years, they’ve been doing that by creating a supportive environment with educational programs.
“Providing intensive case managements, supportive services. We have a variety of wrap around services to really help them get to that exit point of permanent housing,” Hemsworth said.
There are incentives for the women to take the steps towards finding permanent housing. They can go shopping in the shelter’s “boutique” after their counseling services.
These are programs that have been around for decades, as ACCESS celebrates its 40th anniversary this month.
“In that 40 years we’ve helped over 23,000 women and children have that place to call home at least for a short amount of time,” Hemsworth said.
The shelter has grown tremendously over the years. Growing from humble beginnings inside a church to a space now that truly lets it serve its community.
“We just added in additional three rooms and we have currently 15 bedrooms for women and children,” Hemsworth said.
Hemsworth said they are proud of the work they do at access. Each time a woman exits the shelter they get to hang up a key on the door to symbolize finding their permanent home.
“There’s more work to be done but it takes the entire community,” Hemsworth said.