The Rotary Club of Akron welcomed Dr. Wes Fair and Ms. Jessica Purdy to our Tuesday, July 25, 2023, Club luncheon meeting and appreciated their presentation on the various programs offered by Shelter Care, Inc. in their service to adolescents and young adults.
What does Shelter Care Do?
Their Mission:
To provide healing, restore hope, and recognize the value of young people and families in need.
History:
Dave Fair founded Shelter Care Inc. in the fall of 1972, when he and Juvenile Court Judge, William P. Kannel noticed a significant increase in the number of children who were being brought to the court’s attention for non-delinquent charges; particularly, running away from home due to severe family conflict, neglect, and abuse. With the support of the Chapel at Fir Hill, Dave secured a home in Akron that would operate as the first Shelter Care home. This was the inception of the Shelter Home Program and the beginning of Shelter Care.
Throughout its 50 years, Shelter Care has responded to the needs of the youth and families in Summit and the surrounding counties. In 1978, the Junior League was operating a shelter for runaway teens, but reached out to merge with Shelter Care so more youth could be served. Dave was able to create the Safe Landing Youth Shelter Program as a second division beneath the Shelter Care umbrella.
The Respite Care Program came about in 1990 at the request of the Director of Child Guidance and Family Solutions to create a short-term residential program for youth who needed scheduled breaks from home due to family conflict. Additionally, the Highlands Teen Pregnancy Shelter was established in 2005 as the only licensed teen pregnancy shelter in the state of Ohio at the request of Summit County Children Services to create a program for homeless, or at-risk teen girls who were either pregnant or parenting a child under three years of age.
In 2008, Shelter Care continued to respond to the needs in the community by establishing the Street Outreach Services Program to meet the needs of at-risk and homeless youth and young adults through street based and drop-in services. Most recently in 2022, Shelter Care established its Outpatient Counseling Center Program to provide counseling to individuals of all ages and backgrounds.
For further information about each of their programs, check out their website at www.sc72.org. Below you will find two flyers for a couple of upcoming events or click here to download the flyers.
Yours in Service -
Terry Dalton
Akron Club Secretary and Scholarship Chair
