ASHLAND — Ashland’s newest temporary shelter for families experiencing homelessness opened its renovated doors Thursday.
The Ashland Church Community Emergency Shelter Services (ACCESS) Gottfried Center, at 228 Maple St., will have its first tenants moving in on Monday, said Sunny McCarty, the organization’s executive director.
But first, a celebration.
Thursday’s ribbon cutting ceremony capped off months of renovation at the house that used to house a daycare. The faith-based organization bought the house for $220,000 in August 2024. Renovation began in earnest in June, McCarty said.
“We just finished, literally, yesterday,” she said. “We all stayed till 9 o-clock to make sure it was all buttoned up and ready to go.”
Renovating the house proved costly. It involved demolition and rebuilding walls, new flooring, light fixtures, counters and paint — and much exterior work as well. McCarty said the renovation itself amounted to $210,000.
“Yeah,” McCarty said, sighing with a chuckle. “There were a lot of grants and donors.”
And that remodeling price tag did not include the $8,000 estimate to replace the building’s main sewer line. McCarty said work for that will start Friday.
What’s in a name?
The Gottfried center adopts the last name of the project’s largest donors, Fred and Lori Gottfried. The couple was behind providing ACCESS with its units on Claremont Avenue in 2016.
“This community has been good to us and I had a successful business here. I had some investments that did well. And it’s time to give back,” Fred Gottfried said.
Lori Gottfried said helping the poor in the community is part of the mission of Jesus Christ.
The Gottfrieds said they initially got the idea to help ACCESS after hearing former executive director Cathy Thiemens speak about the homelessness issue in Ashland at a Lions Club meeting.
“When you see a young, single mom with a couple kids sleeping in her car, clothes in the seat,” Fred Gottfried said, trailing off.
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By the numbers
ACCESS received 339 calls for assistance in 2024, including 173 adults and 140 children. The nonprofit was able to help 75 of them.
As of April, ACCESS has received 129 calls for service, including 53 children and 79 adults. They’ve been able to help 21.
The Maple Street site will not be able to accommodate homeless single men — only men with children in the home. It’s a demographic that poses a dilemma for ACCESS and the area. There is no temporary shelter available in Ashland County for men.
ACCESS Gottfried Center
Eligibilities for tenants include:
- Ashland County residents
- Clear background check (social workers check for prior domestic violence charges and other major crimes)
- Single mothers and women
- Single fathers
- Families with children
The center has three units inside, with a maximum capacity of 15. Tenants do not pay rent and are allowed to stay for 90 days.
Once tenants have spent the time in temporary shelter, they will be able to possibly move onto what ACCESS calls one of its five “Foundational Growth” shelters.
| 508 Claremont Ave. | 228 Maple St. | 211 Lee Ave. |
| 4 units (foundational growth) | 3 units (temporary shelter) | 1 unit (foundational growth) |
Foundational Growth units will be available to ACCESS clients who secure “a job, at a certain budget,” McCarty said.
Tenants can stay at a Foundational Growth unit for six months to a year. They pay a portion of rent.
“Just so we can get them a point where they’re stable … they’re working on saving, making sure they can pay rent on time, pay bills,” McCarty said.
Those in need of temporary or semi-temporary shelter from ACCESS can visit online or in person Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.