COLUMBIA, S.C. — Beginning Monday, families will be moved into the newly renovated family shelters as part of Homeless No More.
The nonprofit has been assisting Columbia families in need of emergency and transitional shelter as well as affordable housing.
“We are celebrating the completion of renovations here at our family shelter, where we serve Columbia’s most at-risk families with children," says President and CEO of the organization Lila Anna Sauls.
“Our homeless families and children deserve what any of us want and need, and that is a safe space to sleep at night," Sauls says. "So, we also believe that it’s not just about a roof here. We firmly believe in wrap-around services and programs, so what we hope is we can stabilize the families with a clean, safe roof while our case managers and our team works with them on some changes that might need to be made.”
The dormitory-style housing has been completely redone including new safety, security and accessibility for up to 17 families at a time.
Homeless No More works to keep families together including fathers and boys over 12.
"We’re the only shelter system in town that works with families and with boys over 12, but with that comes great responsibility. So we want to make sure that all of the families feel safe and secure," Sauls says.
The Family Shelter houses families who quickly need support for up to 30 days. They also have transitional services and affordable housing available for families in need.
“This renovation will give families that are literally coming off the streets, out of cars, evicted two days ago, a place to stay and a team will be here to help stabilize them," Sauls says.
This was a part of a campaign called Putting Families First: The Campaign for Homeless No More, which raised over $5.8 million.