AKRON, Ohio — Around the state, thousands of individuals experience homelessness. 

What You Need To Know

  • In late January of 2024, 690 people were experiencing homelessness in Summit County

  • Mathew Seifert, a formerly unhoused individual, was without a home for 12 years.

  • Hope Farm provides free lunches to the unhoused and those experiencing homelessness

Summit County and Akron are no different. Many organizations provide services and resources for those unhoused individuals. In late January of 2024, 690 people were experiencing homelessness in Summit County, according to the county’s Continuum of Care homelessness report. That’s a 56% increase since the 2022 point-in-time count.

Mathew Seifert was included in the 2023 count.

“I got so far into the darkness and homelessness, I never thought that I could ever see light again," said Seifert, a formerly unhoused individual.

Seifert was without a home for 12 years. He was an alcoholic and addicted to drugs, but then something happened.

“I had an epiphany where I didn't want to live like this anymore," said Seifert. “And about 10 minutes later, I got arrested.”

That arrest led him to change his life and make the transition. Now, almost two years later, he's now a part of the organizations that helped him. Hope Farm is a homeless outreach nonprofit program. They make and bring lunches for the unsheltered. Georgann Mirgliotta, founder and director of Hope Farm, met Seifert several years ago and today she still offers the same help.

“Here we're working in a direction with other organizations to try to help them get to the services they need," said Mirgliotta.

Some of Hope Farm’s volunteers are the same people they once served. Seifert now helps make the lunches he once received. Seven years ago, Hope Farm was serving about 45 lunches a week now they serve about 120 a week. Seifert also works with Continuum of Care and Community Support Services. He offers insight on the unsheltered community through his experiences. Now, almost two years sober and housed, he serves the people he once shared a lifestyle with encouraging them better days can happen.

“This wasn't the life for me," said Seifert. “And it's not the life for anybody. Nobody should be out here. But when we're in that state of mind, you know, we don't think that there's a right. But there's a light in the beacon for all of us to get out of this and it's in their timing.”

Some contributing factors that can lead individuals to become unsheltered are lack of affordable housing, drug and alcohol addictions and mental illness. If you know someone who is experiencing homelessness Hope Farm, Continuum of Care and Community Support Services can offer resources and services that may be helpful to them. Hope Farm works off of donations. If you would like to donate or get more information about Hope Farm, you can visit their website here.