Reducing Opiate Abuse in Summit County

The Summit County Opiate Task Force is comprised of over 200 Community Stakeholders representing medical, law enforcement, business, treatment providers, the courts, social services, and persons in recovery. Together, they are addressing this epidemic collaboratively in order to educate, inform, and advocate. Community problems require community solutions!

Over the last decade, we have seen a tremendous increase everywhere in street heroin. More recently this problem has been compounded by the diversion (sharing or sale) of prescription opiates (Oxycontin, hydrocodone, and fentanyl).

City Convene connects faith and local leaders to improve communities Part 2

Story By Lyndsey Schley

Neighboring Your Actual Neighbors

Dave Runyon and Jay Pathak, from Denver CO, discussed their concept of “Neighboring.”

Pathak learned through experience the importance of understanding the landscape of other service providers and working effectively with them.

His church began reaching out to the community through basketball programs, but soon began offering other assistance such as addiction recovery services.  During a visit to a government housing project, he ran into a worker from a social services agency.  Pathak discovered that by offering services isolated from other agencies, they had accidentally undermined much of their work.

City Convene connects faith and local leaders to improve communities

 

 

Story By Lyndsey Schley

 

Business, government, non-profit and faith leaders came together to discuss ways they could work as a group on local social issues at the GoodCities City Convene conference Oct. 18 and 19  at St. George family Center in Akron, OH.

About 110 attendees came to collaborate in the event hosted by the Love Akron Network. The event offered attendees opportunities to learn from speakers who run successful community programs and to network and collaborate with other community members.

Gray Fox Farm strikes savvy balance between urban, rural agriculture

Story by Chris Miller courtesy of the Akronist

Meredith Poczontek, who owns the Gray Fox Farm 
in Hudson with her husband, uses social media to 
stay in touch with customers. (Photo: Shane Wynn)

Hudson couple practices suburban
farming with digital media footprint

Meredith Poczontek does not fit the traditional stereotype of a farmer. She’s young, upbeat, funny and, during a recent tour of the 14-acre Gray Fox Farm in Hudson — which she owns with her husband, John — she jokingly shares this piece of chicken sociology: “It’s like a junior high lunchroom every day in the chicken coop. The bottom of the pecking order is not a nice place to be.”

Happy 20th Anniversary, Love Akron!

Robert DeJournett, Director of Community Relations & Diversity, Summa Health Systems and Chairman of the Board for the Love Akron Network, welcomed the nearly 700 people at the 3rd Annual Love Akron Awards breakfast Sept. 30. The event, held at the John S. Knight center, brought together a mix of businessmen and women, nonprofit organizations, ministry leaders and local philanthropic groups, as well as political leaders.

“The theme for this morning is simply, Servant Hearts. These two words capture the essence of Love Akron’s mission,” said The Rev. Dennis Butts, Associate Pastor at The House of the Lord.