Join us in welcoming Elisa Raicevich, Board Chairperson, and Christine Cox, Board Member to the Broken Chains Ministry board of directors.

Both Elisa and Christine bring more than 15 years of Broken Chains Ministry mentoring experience to their new roles, having mentored dozens of women over the years. In fact, Christine has worked in prison ministry for more than 25 years.

In addition, both of these exceptional leaders are active educators at Lydia’s Home, visiting monthly to teach the Heart of Addiction Bible Study Curriculum to women in recovery. They also visit the women’s Community Based Correctional Facility (CBCF) monthly to mentor to those still incarcerated.

Thanks to Wayside Furniture, your donation of up to $100* will be DOUBLED when you drop off your donation to Wayside Café at 1367 Canton Rd. in Akron November 26 through November 29. Visit Wayside Café located at 1367 Canton Rd., Akron, Ohio 44312. Call 330-733-6221 for hours and details, or visit www.wayside-furniture.com for hours and information.

Lydia's Home is grateful to Professor Joann Sahl, Esq., J.D., and the law students at the University of Akron School of Law for their volunteer service during the 11th Annual Akron Law Cares day of service. Thank you for rolling up your sleeves and helping us complete maintenance and landscaping projects for the third straight year.

Thanks to our generous sponsors, donors and attendees, we exceeded our fundraising goal for the Making the Difference Benefit Banquet by more than $10,000, and are within $10,000 of meeting our annual fundraising goal for 2021. On October 1, we welcomed more than 300 people in fellowship and eight new sponsors including event sponsor, Victory Innovations to celebrate incredible milestones for the ministry, and heard powerful testimonies of transformation from our clients.

Urbean Café marked 10 years this summer, Lydia’s Home celebrated its four-year anniversary late this summer, and we recently earned the Platinum Seal of Transparency from Guidestar.

Broken Chains Ministry has earned the Guidestar Platinum Seal of Transparency. This is the highest seal of transparency that Guidestar awards to a nonprofit organization.

Guidestar is one of the leading independent nonprofit governance and accountability organizations in the world, helping oversee validation and compliance, monitor ongoing nonprofit status, prioritize partnerships, and understand operational strength.

Congratulations to Lydia’s Home as it celebrates its four-year anniversary. Throughout the past four years, 25 residents have successfully graduated from this unique program. Many Lydia’s Home residents have been reunited with their children and families, obtained full-time employment, and become active members of the community and a local church family, and have transformed their lives through this program.

In 2020, Lydia’s Home received its State of Ohio Certification from Ohio Recovery Housing (ORH) as a Level III Recovery Residence, and meets National Standards of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR.)

Urbean Café workforce development program located within the Robert K. Pfaff Metro Transit Center has topped $5.5 million in economic impact to Summit County since its 2011 launch.

Urbean Cafe provides a successful workforce development training program for formerly incarcerated citizens while supporting local vendors and serving some of the best, freshly made homestyle food in town.

Last week, the executive director at Lydia’s Home, Tamela Shawhan, served as a guest speaker at the Crossroads OASIS event in Hudson, Ohio.

OASIS is a community-based outreach program designed to bring women together during the summer to listen, share, learn from one another, and connect on a spiritual level.

For its July event, Tamela was asked to speak about her journey and her work with Lydia’s Home, a faith-centered residential recovery program for women.

Congratulations to Urbean Café, celebrating its 10th anniversary this month! Ten great years of serving our community, our clients, and of course, delicious food and coffee.

Throughout the last decade, Urbean Cafe has provided a successful workforce development program for returning and recovering citizens while serving up some of the best coffee and café-style food in town. On a busy day, the Café serves up to 600 customers at the Robert K. Pfaff Metro Transit Center.

By providing training, hands-on experience, time management skills, and other relevant experiences, Urbean Cafe has now helped more than 100 individuals accomplish countless successful aspects of workforce readiness, and re-entry.

Last month, we were blessed to host our 4th annual retreat at Martha’s House in Cadiz, Ohio! Lydia’s Home residents, staff, and successful graduates were able to come together to spend some quality time reconnecting, while enjoying the beautiful landscape of the property.

The ladies celebrated with lots of fishing, reading, good food, and fellowship. During their stay, they also threw a surprise wedding shower for one of our Lydia’s Home graduates! The celebration continues this weekend, as many of the ladies are also attending the wedding ceremony on Myrtle Beach!