“My Brother’s Keeper” Non-Profit Awardee:

ACCESS, Inc. Women & Children Shelter

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ACCESS, Inc. Women & Children Shelter

ACCESS has been sheltering homeless women and children in Summit County since 1984.

ACCESS, Inc. – Akron Citizen’s Coalition for Emergency Shelter Services – was formed by a grassroots effort in 1983, in response to insufficient numbers of emergency beds available in Akron. A survey conducted by Akron Catholic Commission in the early 1980’s found that of the 625 requests each month, only 150 beds were available. ACC then organized concerned citizens with the vision of providing shelter services to homeless single women and homeless women with children. ACCESS, Inc. was incorporated in the state of Ohio in March 1983.

ACCESS is an independent, local, non-profit organization whose mission is to “encourage the development of self-esteem and the attainment of self-sufficiency through its commitment to providing a holistic, safe and supportive environment, and through its programs of housing, advocacy and empowerment.”

Since 1984, when the original ACCESS emergency shelter opened in the former convent buildings of St. Bernard’s Church in down-town Akron, women have had a safe place where the threats of life on the street or in their cars are replaced by food, shelter, warmth and support. ACCESS helps women face or remove the barriers that are in the way to self-fulfillment, gainful employment and safe & affordable housing.

Shelter capacity at ACCESS increased by 43 percent in 1996 when the organization moved into a new facility. The next year, Step II was created in the old building on High Street to include transitional housing for eight single women. In 2005 the new facility on Market Street was expanded to include offices, a teen room, fully equipped health care clinic and a children’s play room. The agency has served over 16,000 women and children since it opened.

Services offered center around three life-coaching areas: Life Man-agement programs, Health and Wellness programs and AfterCare, where clients may take advantage of the services for six months after exiting the shelter. In 2010 ACCESS served 472 women and children; 217 were children and of these 109 were under the age of six! The agency served over 42,000 meals and provided over 14,000 nights of shelter in 2010.

Nominated by Michael Steel