The effort to find an answer to homelessness in Augusta got a financial boost from the Augusta Commission.
Commissioners approved putting $3.5 million dollars toward creating and operating a non-congregate shelter, creating individual living areas for homeless individuals and family groups.
Commissioner Jordan Johnson, co-chairman of the homelessness task force, says the first step was to accept the money from the federal government’s American Rescue Plan.
MORE: Finding Homes for the Homeless
He says the second step is to come up with a plan.
“And that’s why the homeless task force is getting ready to plan a trip to Columbus. We’re going to plan a trip to eastern South Carolina to an opportunity village. We’re going to go down to Savannah where they just built a tiny home village,” Johnson said.
For Johnson, homelessness is personal.
“When our house burned down, my employer got us a hotel room for the night. The Red Cross got us a hotel and food and gift cards, but they didn’t get us housing. There was no housing availability.” Johnson said.
Fortunately, insurance was able to continue paying for hotel rooms, but Johnson said they experienced a sense of homelessness for about a year.
“Our house burned down four days before Christmas, we didn’t move back into our home until September of the next year. Just went from hotel to hotel,” he said.
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Johnson said that is nothing compared to what some people face every day, and he fears it will get worse when the federal moratorium on evictions is lifted.
“I look at other states where you have people who are homeless, who have a great job, they have great income, but they can’t afford housing,” he said. “We’re right now not to the point where our housing is so far beyond reach, but if you take someone from the Salvation Army who’s been homeless and you try to get them a brand-new house in Augusta, ten times out of ten they can’t afford it.”
Jordan says that is one reason why transitional housing, like a non-congregate shelter, is important is to give people a chance to get back on their feet.
He knows it is likely impossible to eliminate all homelessness in Augusta because some individuals prefer to live on the street.
MORE: Augusta Commission Approves CARES Act Funding for Homeless Prevention
“But I want to lie down at night knowing that we did everything we could to offer them opportunity,” Johnson added.
He said a win would be finding far fewer people in the next point in time count.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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