Akron, OH . The GAR Foundation has awarded nearly $2 million in grants to 24 nonprofit organizations across the Akron area following its most recent distribution committee meeting, reinforcing its ongoing commitment to strengthening community systems, expanding opportunity, and supporting organizations addressing critical local needs.
Among this quarter’s grantees, GAR foundation, the Summit County Continuum of Care was one of three highlighted whose work reflects both immediate community impact and long-term community vitality: the other two grantees were Signal Akron and the National Center for Choreography-Akron (NCCAkron).
Centering Lived Experience in Homelessness Response
The Summit County Continuum of Care (CoC) is receiving $20,000 support for its Lived Experience Committee (LEC), a community-driven initiative that ensures individuals with firsthand experience of homelessness play a meaningful and active role in shaping local housing strategies, system design, and policy development.
This investment will support the expansion of the LEC through strengthened enhanced training opportunities, and capacity-building efforts. As the committee grows, it will deepen its role in informing coordinated community responses to homelessness and advancing solutions rooted in real-world experience.
“Ending homelessness requires more than programming. It requires listening to and learning from people who are directly impacted by the system every day,” said Chris Richardson, Executive Director of the Summit County Continuum of Care. “This support allows us to deepen that engagement, strengthen our system, and ensure lived experience is embedded in decisions that affect housing stability and opportunity across Summit County.”
“Investing in the Lived Experience Committee is about shifting power and strengthening our entire continuum of care,” Richardson added. “When we create space for leadership from those who have navigated homelessness firsthand, we build solutions that are not only more humane, but more effective and sustainable. On behalf of our Board of Directors and Staff we thank the GAR Foundation for this generous gift.”
About the GAR Foundation
The GAR Foundation invests in education, economic development, and nonprofit capacity-building to strengthen the Greater Akron community.
About the Summit County Continuum of Care
The Summit County Continuum of Care coordinates a community-wide response to homelessness, bringing together providers, advocates, and people with lived experience to build a more effective and equitable housing system.