FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Akron, Ohio — The Summit County Continuum of Care (CoC) is honored to announce the receipt of an unsolicited $10,000 grant from the Institute of Emerging Philanthropists Board Designated Fundthrough the Akron Community Foundation. The award was presented during the Emerging Philanthropists Graduation ceremony held on June 9 at the Knight Stage, recognizing the CoC’s commitment to advancing lived experience leadership within the local homeless response system.
The grant will support the CoC’s Lived Experience Leadership Pilot Initiative, an innovative effort designed to elevate the voices, expertise, and leadership of individuals who have experienced homelessness. The initiative reflects the belief that people with firsthand experience of homelessness bring critical insight into the barriers, challenges, and opportunities within the systems designed to support them.
During the award presentation, the Emerging Philanthropists class recognized the importance of shifting the way communities develop solutions, noting that systems are too often designed around people rather than with them. The class acknowledged the CoC’s intentional effort to create opportunities for individuals with lived experience to influence decisions, strengthen policies, and help shape a more responsive and equitable homeless response system.
The Lived Experience Leadership Pilot Initiative will provide meaningful opportunities for individuals who have experienced homelessness to contribute their perspectives, serve as leaders, and inform strategies that improve outcomes for individuals and families experiencing housing instability. Participants are not only sharing their experiences they are contributing their time, talents, and leadership to help create lasting change within the community.
Matt Seifert, Chair of the Summit County Continuum of Care Lived Experience Committee, emphasized the importance of this work:
“Lived experience is a form of expertise that has too often been missing from the spaces where decisions are made. This initiative is about changing that. It creates opportunities for individuals who have experienced homelessness to bring their knowledge, perspective, and leadership to the work of improving our homeless response system. When we include the voices of those most impacted, we build stronger solutions, more responsive systems, and a community where everyone has a role in creating change.”
Christopher Richardson, Executive Director of the Summit County Continuum of Care, shared his appreciation for the investment:
“This investment represents more than financial support it is a statement that the voices of people with lived experience matter and that their leadership is essential to creating lasting change. We are deeply grateful to the Institute of Emerging Philanthropists, their graduating class, and the Akron Community Foundation for recognizing the value of this work. This grant allows us to continue building a system where individuals who have experienced homelessness are valued as partners, leaders, and experts in developing the solutions our community needs.”
The Summit County CoC extends its sincere appreciation to the Institute of Emerging Philanthropists and the Akron Community Foundation for their investment in a future where individuals with lived experience of homelessness are not just included in the conversation they are helping lead it.
About the Summit County Continuum of Care
The Summit County Continuum of Care is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness across Summit County, Ohio. As the lead entity coordinating the local homeless response system, the CoC brings together housing providers, service organizations, healthcare partners, government agencies, and community stakeholders to develop collaborative, data-informed strategies that improve housing stability and outcomes for individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
Through strategic planning, coordinated outreach, system improvement, community partnerships, and a commitment to elevating lived experience, the Summit County CoC works to ensure that every person experiencing a housing crisis has access to the resources, support, and pathways needed to achieve safe and stable housing.