Congratulations to Lydia’s Home as it celebrates its five-year anniversary. Now, Lydia’s Home has served 30 residents, and half have fully completed the program, which is incredible. 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.)

Join us on August 31 as we honor International Overdose Awareness Day.

This is a day of remembrance, tribute, reflection, and commitment to help end overdose deaths and injury, and to remember without stigma those who have died while honoring the those who grieve.

Overdose is one of the world’s worst public health crises. The international awareness campaign acknowledges the profound grief resulting from death or permanent injury caused by drug overdose, including that of friends, family and community. Help us spread the message that overdose is a preventable tragedy.

We can’t thank you enough!

On June 4, more than 40 volunteers joined us for the annual Lydia’s Home Volunteer Day. Together, we put down a truckload of mulch, 10 truckloads of topsoil, and 2 truckloads of gravel around our maintenance building and fire pit area. We were also able to put down new grass seed, fertilizer, and straw over more than 15,000 square feet of our property.

Because of your generous gifts of time, hard work and resources, the Ministry was able to save thousands of dollars that can be reinvested in our programs.

Since its 2011 launch, Akron’s Urbean Café has exceeded $6 million in economic impact to Summit County. A workforce development program of Broken Chains Ministry for formerly incarcerated citizens, the café serves up to 600 customers a day.

“Beyond generating $6 million in economic impact, the café’s less than two percent employee recidivism rate has saved Ohio taxpayers more than $3 million in direct costs,” said John Wiseman, Urbean Café’s business manager.

More than 115 individuals have achieved workforce readiness and successful reentry through this unique Restorative Justice program.

Join us at Lydia’s Home on June 4 for our summer Volunteer Day from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

We need folks who are able and willing to help us with a variety of work outside following the removal of a number of dead and diseased trees. This process resulted in some damage to the land.

From planting grass seed and pulling weeds, to helping plant small trees, shrubs and flowers, and helping with mulching, we would love to have you join us for at least a few hours. We also need donations toward flowering plants, shrubs, trees, mulch, topsoil and grass seed. Read more for details.

As many of you know, Lydia’s Home is a visionary 6-bed transition, recovery and reentry home for women. This means we use a lot of sheets, towels, face towels and washcloths! As we approach our 5-year anniversary, we are asking our community for donations of new essential items for our current residents, and to prepare for new residents. Check out our blog for wish list items, colors, sizes and delivery instructions. Thank you!

View our photo gallery or watch our video to see the interior of the home for color ideas. We would love to have at least 6 new sets of bed and bathroom essentials by the end of the year.

Broken Chains Ministry is founded on faith-centered Restorative Justice principles that we believe are reshaping the approach to criminal justice.

About 2,100 people return to the Akron area community from incarceration every year. Restorative Justice understands crime as an act against people, relationships, and the community. Retributive justice views crime as an act against the state and focuses on punishment.

We employ proven practices of mentoring, identity restoration, faith-centered programs and education, workforce development, and advocacy to achieve these goals. In the process, we help improve public safety, restore individuals to community with fairness, save taxpayer dollars, and generate positive economic impact. This includes our unique Urbean Cafe and Lydia’s Home programs.