The Exchange House: A Multicultural Gathering Space and AirBnB

Kailey Sherrick is an Ohio native and writer sharing today's invitee commodity about a unique community space in Akron.

In Akron, Ohio'due south N Hill neighborhood, a small blue firm sits nestled in between other similar residences. To expect at it from the outside, the firm itself is rather not-descript. Information technology's stylish, yet traditional, with clean white accents and a quaint porch. From the street, information technology looks like any other 2-story inner-city business firm with touches of craftsman architecture. It's merely on closer inspection that this business firm sets itself apart.

The Exchange House, decked out for its one-twelvemonth anniversary party.

Within, the house features a large, open, and warm gathering infinite. The walls are decorated with pictures of immigrants, illustrating their past also as their present hither in North Hill. The three bedrooms feature beds with colorful Nepali-inspired duvets that were made by the refugees themselves. It becomes articulate, rather chop-chop, that this is more just a house. It's a coming together place. A gathering ground. A harbor for understanding, cultural exchange, and the free flow of ideas. It'southward called the Substitution House, and it'southward the encephalon kid of an system called Better Block.

Beginnings

In society to truly understand the Exchange House, it's important to understand the groundwork of Northward Hill.

Akron's North Hill neighborhood has long been a multicultural melting pot. For over a century, this area has been host to Irish, Italian, Polish, and German immigrants. North Hill has a rich history every bit an international and multicultural hub, which is partly why the International Plant of Akron (IIA) chose the area for their headquarters.

Today, the neighborhood boasts residents of various nationalities and ethnicities. When you walk through Northward Colina, you lot might meet people from Afghanistan, the Congo, Bharat, Burma, and more. But the overwhelming majority are Bhutanese refugees from Nepal.

The IIA began resettling Bhutanese refugees in North Hill get-go in 2008, and with the influx of new residents, a revitalization of the community began. Empty storefronts had new life breathed into them every bit immigrants started pocket-size businesses. The loftier school saw a much needed boost in student population, and boasts a very successful soccer team, along with a 50% South Asian demographic. Merely, as with any neighborhood, new neighbors hateful new tensions.

A contempo gathering at the Exchange House honored Officer Damber Subba, the showtime former refugee to join the Akron Police force Department.

Overall, nigh immigrants settle into the surface area without any problems. They're able to get work through the IIA at one of the numerous manufacturing plants in Akron, they take English language courses, they take citizenship courses, and they turn to 1 another to effigy out the intricacies of daily life in America. Sometimes it's equally simple as asking a neighbor where the mailbox is located. Other times it'due south as complicated equally buying a firm for the outset time. But there are e'er landlord/tenant complications to be resolved, language barrier issues to be confronted, and cultural misunderstandings and suspicions to be quelled. That's where the Exchange House comes in.

Building a Foundation

In 2015, the organisation Better Cake was inspired past Due north Hill's multicultural atmosphere, too equally the area's need to revitalize vacant houses left abandoned past the recession. Afterwards winning a $155,000 Knight Cities Challenge grant from the Knight Foundation (which splits $5 million between organizations and individuals with plans for projects to make Akron's communities more successful), Ameliorate Cake teamed up with other volunteers and organizations to plow a vacant business firm in North Colina into a gathering place for local Akronites and immigrants alike.

When the business firm on Elma Street was picked and purchased for $28,000, the dreams for the Exchange Firm took their commencement steps towards reality. Its creation was merely as diverse as the population it serves. Sai Sinbondit, a designer for Bialosky Cleveland and a refugee himself, was the architect behind the project. Truly Reaching You Ministries, a group that provides work for onetime convicts, carried out the sabotage. Habitat for Humanity of Summit Canton donated cabinetry for the kitchen and bathroom. A number of neighborhood volunteers donated fourth dimension, materials, and try into turning the h2o-damaged, abased house into a make new infinite that encapsulated Akron's resiliency and its welcoming atmosphere.

The Commutation House Today

The Substitution Firm officially opened its doors to the public on Feb 28, 2017. The gathering space is open to the community for meetings, classes, and cultural events. Currently, they hold English as a Second Language courses there also as healthcare classes, leadership workshops, concerts by the Nepali Druk Fusion band, a community garden, social work hours, and more. Every bit the Exchange Firm grows, information technology evolves to meet the needs of the community.

Another interesting facet of the Exchange House is its commitment to multicultural commutation, not just for local Akronites and the immigrant community, but for people nationally and internationally. The superlative 3 bedrooms of the Exchange House serve as a multicultural hostel, and are listed as "Little Bhutan" rooms on AirBnB. They volume for $30 per night. These rooms serve both to temporarily house other immigrants in the N Colina neighborhood, likewise as to open upwardly N Hill to multicultural tourism.

In add-on to being a community consequence infinite, the Commutation House also rents out bedrooms on the superlative floor through AirBnB.

With its location so close to many cultural and ethnic businesses and restaurants, it gives international, national, and local guests a gamble to experience everything North Loma has to offer. Information technology's too located in very shut proximity to Main Street, and so those who desire to experience downtown Akron can practice then.

Co-ordinate to Krista Nightengale, Managing director at Better Cake, and Katie Beck, Project Manager for the Substitution House, the house uses the funds from AirBnB rentals to pay for the day-to-day operations of the house, such as utilities, housekeeping, etc., as well as to fund community events.

At the fourth dimension of this writing, the Exchange House has been open up to the public for over a year. It's clustered proficient ratings and swell reviews on AirBnB. It'southward become a staple in the North Hill area for all of its residents by offering much needed resource for the customs, also as a source of pride for the volunteers who help keep it running.

It is currently in Phase 2 of evolution. Katie Beck said the second phase "will accept more public spaces built to encourage interaction and new connections between neighbors." By July of 2018, they hope to add together an outdoor stage, permanent international market place stalls, and grouping dining tables. They hope to rent the space for bigger events, such as weddings and large parties.

At the Commutation House, you lot tin can find customs, you can immerse yourself in other cultures, and you can experience everything this neighborhood has to offer. Especially in this current political climate, it's a great model and example of how multiple organizations (like Better Block, the International Institute of Akron, the Bhutanese Customs Association of Akron), and individuals can find mutually beneficial ways to bridge barriers and unify a diverse area for the betterment of everyone.

This essay is office of an ongoing appointment with Akron, Ohio, supported by the Knight Foundation. Acquire more about it hither.

(All images courtesy of The Exchange Business firm.)

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Nearly THE AUTHOR

Kailey Sherrick lives in Wooster, Ohio and works as a Social Media Manager. She's a contempo graduate of the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts (NEOMFA) plan, where she earned her MFA in Artistic Nonfiction. Also writing, Kailey enjoys playing softball, gardening, spending time with her family, and beingness involved in her community.