About Lifeline

Can you imagine our community if poverty didn’t exist? If everyone had access to healthcare and had a warm, safe place to call home? What if jobs were plentiful and no one went hungry? This is what Lifeline, Inc. is working towards—fighting poverty and improving the quality of life for all members of our community. We work every day to help those living in poverty to move towards self-sufficiency. Our success stories have been many—people who have received prescriptions and other medical care who otherwise would’ve gone without because they’ve lost their insurance; people who were able to participate in job training programs and explore new career opportunities when they otherwise would’ve remained unemployed; and those who were provided emergency utility assistance so that they could maintain safe and affordable housing during the cold winter months.

As a Community Action Agency, Lifeline is uniquely poised to rapidly respond to the critical needs of our local community. Lifeline’s Board and staff believe firmly that self-sufficiency means something different to every consumer that we meet. To some it may mean securing affordable housing and keeping their utilities connected so that they have a safe home. To others it may mean having access to medical services so that they can properly maintain their health. And to others it might mean enrolling in school or job training programs so that they can pursue different career opportunities. Because we believe that poverty affects every household differently, we offer a wide variety of programs designed to combat the many effects of poverty. Currently our programming is divided into four main areas: Healthcare Assistance, Housing & Energy Assistance, Consumer Education & Job Training, and Information & Referral Services.

Over the years, Lifeline has helped thousands of Lake County residents who were struggling with basic needs and trying to become more self-sufficient. Poverty affects everyone in some way. Lake County residents are facing challenges like job losses, loss of health insurance and home foreclosures and Lifeline, Inc. is proud to provide a safety net for our neighbors in need.

Lifeline was founded on June 19, 1973 with the mission of helping Lake County’s low-income residents by providing assistance and life skills programming that was designed to increase self-sufficiency. In 1980, Lifeline became a participating agency of the United Way of Lake County. In 1987, Lifeline was designated as Lake County’s Community Action Agency by the Ohio Department of Development. And in 2008, Lifeline became certified by the Ohio Department of Mental Health as a mental health agency.