Unify Akron: Building the Civic Assembly on Housing Together

The Akron Civic Assembly on Housing is moving from concept to reality, with new partnerships, funding, and local energy taking shape.

Investing in Akron’s Story

Last week, the effort received a major boost: a $95,000 grant from the Democracy Funders Network, including $20,000 dedicated to storytelling — to help Akron residents tell their own stories about home, belonging, and community. Combined with more than $137,500 raised locally, these funds will ensure that the Assembly is led by and for Akronites, with space for every voice at the table.

Many Teams, One Mission

Over the past month, local Akron working teams have formed to bring the Assembly to life — each tackling a different piece of the puzzle, like:

• Outreach Team: Relationship builder, recruiters, and communicators ensuring Akron’s neighborhoods are represented and heard
  
• Research Team: Researchers and journalists finding relevant data and preparing educational background materials
  
• Solutions Team: Local experts representing different angles of the issues and curate info and solutions for the Assembly
  
• Support Team: Logistical backbone ensuring accessibility and smooth operations
  
• Accountability Team: Trusted local leaders ensuring fairness and transparency in a trusted process.
  
• Impact Team: Leaders and volunteers who support advocacy and ensure that the Assembly’s recommendations lead to real-world change
  

Kicking Off the Work

The Assembly teams will come together for the first time at a Kickoff Celebration on November 12, marking the official start of Akron’s journey toward collaborative problem-solving.
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The very next day, November 13, the 20-person Solutions Team on Housing, featuring leaders from across the housing ecosystem, from advocates to developers, will hold its first meeting to begin charting the path ahead.

Akron’s Work Is Inspiring Others

Beyond the city, Akron’s story is already gaining attention. At the national ComNet conference in Denver, Morgan shared how Akron’s Assembly blends community building and communications to strengthen trust and civic connection, with more than 120 attendees from across the nation learning from Unify’s approach.

What’s Next

In the months ahead, these teams will shape the design of the Civic Assembly, which will convene in spring 2026. The goal: to create a space where Akron residents can learn together, deliberate together, and lead together, modeling a new kind of civic collaboration.

Akron’s Assembly isn’t just about housing. It’s about belonging, trust, and proving that communities can solve problems not by fighting over them, but by facing them together.