AKRON, Ohio — After nearly a year, the finish line is in sight for cleaning up the administration offices at the Hope & Healing Survivor Resource Center after pipes burst on Christmas Eve.
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"I can picture the damage and destruction that was here a year ago almost perfectly," Chief Program Officer Ashley Kline said. "So be standing in this space now, and being on the other side of it, we’re all so relieved we’re almost back in our space."
The damage did not extend to the shelter side of the building; however, about 70 individuals were moved to a nearby undisclosed location while crews worked to secure power, heating, and other essentials to the complex last year.
"It’s a natural disaster," CEO Teresa Stafford told News 5 in December 2022. "We always want clients to have a space that’s warm and welcoming. We don’t have that over here right now. The ceilings are down, the furniture is damaged. The odor is starting to kick in. So, it’s a disaster."
"The fans humming, that was a sound we were familiar with for several weeks," Kline recalled.
The center found itself scrambling, unable to close given they help those dealing with domestic violence, intimate partner violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and child sex abuse.
That said, Kline told News 5 there was a blessing behind the damage: When they couldn’t work inside, they went outside and saw the area through a whole new lens.
"This challenge has really pushed us to be more creative," she said. "Getting out into the spaces in the community, into different spaces we had not been in before to reach new clients that we had not interacted with up until this point."
Kline told News 5 that the damage done allowed the center to improve its layout and offer a more welcoming center when needed.
Right now, the shelter and rape crisis center population is up, housing about 100 survivors with more staff.
It comes as the city of Akron sees the biggest crime increases with rape and domestic violence.
Over the last year, the Hope and Healing Survivor Resource Center has seen a 55% increase in rape crisis center services, a 23% increase in rape crisis center hotline calls, a 59% increase in domestic violence advocacy and crisis intervention and a 54% increase in clients served with therapy services.
Ideally, the center hopes to complete work and move back into the space in the next month or so.
