Oberlin Community Services (OCS) is a responsive community-based organization that serves low-income and vulnerable community members by providing food, financial assistance, referrals, educational outreach, and other basic needs. Since its inception in 1955, OCS has grown into one of the largest social service organizations in the county (by points of service), providing well over 50,000 points of service each year. OCS has been instrumental in many facets of the community, providing 3 main cornerstones of service which include food, emergency assistance, and resiliency and sustainability programming. Through the early 2000s, OCS was located on South Professor Street. We made the move in September 2023 to the Cooper Community Center, 500 E. Lorain St.!

Our Mission & Vision

OCS empowers area residents through emergency assistance, food programs, and other services while promoting systemic change.

We envision a sustainable and thriving community where everyone flourishes.

Our Services

Our emergency assistance service region includes the City of Oberlin, Ohio and ten nearby townships, villages and cities: Brighton, Camden, Carlisle, Huntington, Lagrange, New Russia, Penfield, Pittsfield, Rochester, and Wellington.

Our food programs serve Lorain County residents at or below 200% of the poverty level.

Area residents continue to face job loss and medical emergencies, leading to many families facing economic hardships. More and more OCS clients are middle-income people who have lost their jobs and are falling into the ranks of the low-income for the first time in their lives. Many who come in to see us are struggling with sporadic and inadequate income, hunger, lack of healthcare coverage, substandard housing, and home foreclosure. Some of our clients suffer from mental health issues, physical disabilities, and/or criminal records that keep them out of the workforce. OCS seeks to alleviate these problems by providing food and other necessary goods, vouchers for otherwise unaffordable prescription drugs or transportation, utility assistance when there is threat of shut-offs, and rent or mortgage assistance to avoid evictions and homelessness. OCS works on an interagency basis with regional partners to optimize available resources and services offered. For example, we are part of a United Way of Greater Lorain County collaborative with twelve other agencies working to prevent these problems and to create longer-term solutions through personal counseling, job advice and training, and careful case management. We engage closely with our clients and develop an ongoing relationship with them. At OCS, we focus on our key services and clients while providing a wider array of services through our partner agencies. Our goal is to contribute to the success of every family or individual in need that visits us.