SUMMIT COUNTY, Ohio — In light of Wednesday’s new inflation report, housing partners in Summit County said more support is needed, or else the number of people experiencing homelessness will continue to rise.
“As long as the prices with rent increase. You’re going to continue to see these challenges happen,” said Summit County Continuum of Care Executive Director Christopher Richardson.
Summit County’s 2026 Homelessness Report showed 71% of people who experienced homelessness in Summit County in 2025 were unhoused for the first time.
“We just find that there are more people that are becoming homeless,” said Richardson.
As someone who experienced homelessness, Summit County Continuum of Care’s Lived Experience Co-Chair Matthew Seifert said it’s concerning.
“As a lived experience person and lived out there for as long as I did, there’s five to six new people coming into the outreach center to do laundry and shower every day that we’ve seen before,” said Seifert.
Meantime, Richardson said there is a growing number of domestic violence survivors and young people who are looking for safety or a place to stay through their organization, too.
“It’s really not about the system, so to speak. It’s more about how do we take ownership as a community, working with our philanthropists, working with our county officials and city officials, to do what we can to put money and resources back into this community,” said Richardson.
If not, Richardson fears demand for housing and services will continue to exceed available resources, which could make things tough for supportive housing and service partners like Tarry House in Akron.
“If you’ve got great transitional housing options but you don’t have many permanent housing options, these people are going to get stable and good to go and then there’s nowhere to send them to,” said Tarry House Executive Director Tim Edgar.
If there’s nowhere to send people, Edgar said the cycle will repeat itself.
“It’s people that don’t necessarily have to be homeless if those options are there for them. They’re in a good position to succeed,” said Edgar.
