For many who think of Habitat for Humanity, they think of new home construction. But at Habitat for Humanity of Summit County, our mission to ‘build homes’ doesn’t always start with a vacant lot; sometimes, it starts by saving a home that has become a prison of its own making. Our home repair program has grown significantly since it first started in Summit County in 2010. Because many Akron homes were built for the rubber industry boom of the early 1900s, they now require specialized care to update aging infrastructure that was never intended to last over a century. Our home repair staff recently finished a critical home repair in Akron. “It’s been one of the most impactful projects this organization has ever done in the home repair space. This project involved so many overlapping organizations from the bed bug company, the clean out service, Cardinal Environmental, Direction Home Area Agency on Aging, and the Summit County Humane Society. Just having that many partners care about ensuring the health and safety of an 80 year old Akron resident in our community was really impactful.” said Rochelle as she reflected on the full scope of the project.
The project began in March of 2025 and over the next 8 months the home was completely transformed. “We helped move her from the 19th century into the 21st century over this process.” says Rick Smith, the Habitat staff home repair lead on the project. “It was a true mountain to climb, for sure, but we provided a decent place for her to live.” Habitat’s goal started as a functioning kitchen but the project quickly became more, adding a functional bathroom along with clean up required to safely complete both.
Over two decades, the family grappled with a snowballing cycle of illness and grief that eventually manifested in a home that was no longer a refuge, but a hazard. “Animal waste was attached to everything. It was petrified like cement on the floor so a biohazard team had to come in and clean.” explained Rick. Our Habitat team realized we needed the help of other community partners outside of Habitat’s skillset before any of our repair work could begin. We also understood and listened to the homeowner, knowing this was to be done with sensitivity and care. “The main component for success in this project was having our home repair staff treating a homeowner with dignity from the beginning. I don’t believe that this type of coordination could have been accomplished, had the homeowner not trusted the people that had already been in their homes. They treated her with compassion and care and understanding, with no judgement.” said Marissa Little, Habitat’s VP & Chief Operating Officer. Marissa helped coordinate partners thanks to her connections through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Aging in Place Home Modification Grant. She continues to say, “We are all human and we want to provide compassionate care to our neighbors and I think Rick did an exemplary job of this.”
Rick created a plan to complete the project. “I went to visit her, I didn’t want to have the conversation on the phone.” Rick says as he remembered wrestling with how to confront the homeowner about the required clean up needed. “I stood there and I told her, face to face. I promised I was going to see this project through, that I wasn’t going to leave her but that I needed her help to take care of stuff so we had a safe place to work.” She had an emotional breakdown coming to the realization that her beloved belongings needed to be cleaned out and many things thrown away. The cats that had provided comfort over the years needed to be rehomed for their safety as well as her own health. With the support and trust in Rick to improve the home, the homeowner agreed to authorize the necessary steps to clean out the house.
The clean out started with finding a safe home for the cats that were causing damage and creating an unhealthy environment. “The Humane Society of Summit County responded after Habitat for Humanity CEO Rochelle Sibbio reached out to help a homeowner who could no longer care for seven cats she clearly loved. Removing the cats was necessary for Habitat to complete critical repairs and ensure the home remained safe and habitable. Each of the cats was friendly and full of personality, making it easy to see the special bond they shared with their owner. We were able to provide thorough medical care, including spay and neuter procedures, and place all seven cats up for adoption. Thanks to this coordinated effort, every cat found a loving new home. This is a powerful example of how community partnerships come together to create better outcomes for both people and animals—ensuring a homeowner can remain safely in her home while giving each cat the chance to thrive,” said Nick Browning, CEO, Humane Society of Summit County.
The next key step included Direction Home Akron Canton Area Agency on Aging and Disabilities who had their clean out services remove 40-50 yards of waste and damaged items from the home. “Our mission is to help older adults age in place with dignity, but that becomes impossible when a home environment becomes a health risk. We understood that for this homeowner, these items weren’t just ‘debris’—they were a lifetime of memories. Our role was to facilitate a massive clean-out that honored her history while prioritizing her future safety. Clearing out nearly 50 yards of waste wasn’t just about making space; it was about clearing a path for her to live a healthy, independent life.”— Abigail Morgan, President & CEO, Direction Home
Even with the items cleaned out, professional help from Cardinal Remediation and the Bed Bug Home Preparation Service was required to make the home healthy and habitable. When a home reaches a level of biohazard contamination involving years of accumulated waste, it becomes a serious medical concern for the resident. These partners specialize in the deep sanitization required to make a space habitable again. They created a ‘blank slate’—a safe, clean environment where our Habitat team could finally begin the beautiful work of restoration.
With the clean up done, Rick was able to give her a remodeled kitchen with a new refrigerator and garbage disposal with the help of our new construction staff, Tim and Todd. Rick is proud to say the home has up to date functional plumbing that doesn’t leak in both the kitchen and bath. “She’s able to go and look at herself in the mirror and brush her teeth. She doesn’t have to eat 100% of her meals out of the microwave or a can. She has grab bars to safely navigate her bathroom with a tub cut.” says Rick. After the job was completed, she was able to pick out new gently used furniture in the Summit County ReStore, through a gift in kind donation, to replace her damaged items. Rick was one of the guys who offered to help deliver these to the home. “She sounds better when you speak to her on the phone,” says Rochelle Sibbio as she reflects on the impact this project had. “You can hear the relief in her voice and happiness.” Rick says he knew all along that she had the strength to overcome and power through, “She had the strength all along, she just needed some guidance.”
Outside of Habitat’s affordable housing repair skills and the partnerships that made the work possible, our Aging in Place program also heavily relies on the assessments from occupational therapists and physical therapists who assess the home. “We try to give them not only what they think that they need in their home to be safe and well, but what we see medically might also be a benefit to them to keep them safe,” said Rochelle. We want the repairs to be sustainable and create homes where older adults can age without fear of falling or other injury. The homeowner also received a safety kit from our Neighborhood Network program that included many items to keep her safe in her home.
To learn more about the Aging in Place program, visit our website at https://www.hfhsummitcounty.org/aginginplace/ To complete an application for a home repair, visit the link below or call us at (330)745-7734.