Programs that support at-risk LGBTQ+ residents in Summit County were not renewed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development this year.
The two projects, run by Akron’s Community AIDS Network/Akron Pride Initiative, known as CANAPI, supported teens and adults facing homelessness, according to a news release.
“In what is a clear targeted attack against the LGBTQ+ community and LGBTQ+ youth, the Trump administration has once again proven how they feel about this community,” CANAPI Board President Julie Beckert said in the release.
HUD cut $331,000, about 25% of CANAPI’s overall budget, she said.
One program, the MICAH Project, is a rapid rehousing program for people living with HIV who are facing homelessness, Beckert said. The other program, Lavender Landing, helped at-risk or homeless LGBTQ+ young adults achieve housing stability.
Each year, the two programs protect about 70 Summit County residents from facing homelessness, Beckert said. The cuts will immediately impact housing for 17 clients, who need to find new options in a matter of days, she said.
“This is an absolute travesty,” Beckert said. “In the days, weeks, and years ahead we will be looking to our community partners to lean in with their support as we continue to fight for our clients and provide them the life-saving resources and support they so desperately need.”
The two programs were funded through Summit County’s Continuum of Care, a coalition of social services agencies. Of all the programs the coalition submitted for federal funding this year, CANAPI’s were the only ones cut, Beckert said.
“The queer community is very familiar with having a federal government who not only doesn’t support us but actively works against us even to the point of death,” CANAPI Board Vice President Justin Lepley said in the release. “In times like these, it is absolutely critical that we come together to support each other and protect the most vulnerable among us.”
The cuts were announced just days before Akron’s annual Pride celebration, which is run by CANAPI.
“CANAPI’s mission has not changed and our Board and staff remain committed to caring for our LGBTQ+ clients and our community,” Beckert said. “As we celebrate the Akron Pride Festival next Saturday, Aug. 23, it is with a renewed reminder about why Pride began in the first place and why it is still so important now. Queer folks and queer kids have always existed and no attempt to erase this community can change that fact.”
The celebration kicks off Saturday morning with a march, starting near the Spaghetti Warehouse on Main St. at 10 a.m.
