TITLE
Title
COUNTY SUPPORT OF THE SERVANT CENTER EXPANSION
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SPONSOR
Sponsor
Chairman Melvin "Skip" Alston and Commissioner Pat Tillman
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BACKGROUND
Background
For more than 30 years The Servant Center has upheld its mission to "empower the homeless and disabled, particularly veterans, to become independent contributing members of our community through housing, healthcare, and restorative services." The Servant Center advances its mission by providing Servant House, a 21-bed transitional housing program for disabled veterans who are experiencing homelessness; 17 permanent supportive housing apartments in the Glenwood and Haworth Houses for low-income veterans with disabilities and exiting homelessness; rapid rehousing for individuals and families, including many veterans; the AmeriCorps Partnership to End Homelessness, a program that places 20+ members (volunteers) in nonprofit agencies across Guilford County that provide direct service to at-risk and homeless individuals and those with hunger insecurity; and helping un- and under-insured clients and people experiencing homelessness file for SSI/SSDI benefits.
The Servant Center was planning to build a new facility on its current site to give each of the veterans residing at Servant House their own bedroom and bathroom (currently, veterans share 13 bedrooms and only three bathrooms), but in the middle of planning, a nearby property that houses the Center’s administrative staff was purchased. The Center’s current site is not big enough to accommodate the additional space for veterans and all staff.
In addition to addressing additional space needs for Servant House, a significant need exists in Guilford County for medical respite. Medical respite is short-term residential care for persons experiencing homelessness who are too ill or frail to recover from a physical illness or injury on their own but are not ill enough to be in a hospital. To provide community capacity to help meet this need, The ...
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