DOWNTOWN AKRON — Summit County Council Aug. 25 discussed an amended resolution authorizing the executive to execute a $697,978 subaward agreement with Direction Home Akron Canton Area Agency on Aging and Disabilities to continue the provision of additional services to Summit County residents to assist older adults with aging in place. According to the resolution, a survey of Summit County residents shows that 96% of older adults want to age in place and stay in their homes as long as possible, and there is a great need for long-term support and services for older adults in the county. Council previously adopted legislation to allow Direction Home to provide additional services to residents and wishes to extend that agreement through the end of the year. The funds will be provided from the county’s American Rescue Plan Act funds, and will be used for the Aging in Place Program, which provides core community-based services such as case management, care navigation and coordination, meals, services to caregivers, evidence-based wellness programming and transportation to medical appointments.
“As we began the income verification process with clients currently enrolled [in the program], it was evident that we needed more time,” said Andrew Barry, attorney for the Summit County Executive’s Office, adding the teams at Direction Home and the Department of Development for the Executive’s Office worked very closely together on the income verifications. He said this continuation will cover more than 200 clients that were income-qualified to receive services through the end of the year — bringing the total spending for Aging in Place services from 2024 and 2025 to just over $6 million, which Barry called “an incredible feat.”
The legislation states these services will “allow Summit County residents to maintain a clean and safe living environment in order to age at home for as long as possible.”…