Columbia emergency family homeless shelter reopens after renovation
For seven months, Columbia nonprofit Homeless No More has been relying on motels to provide emergency shelter for families in crisis.
But now it is once again ready to serve those experiencing homelessness with a shelter on its main campus.
Homeless No More officially reopened its emergency family shelter Thursday after extensive remodeling. Officials said the agency spent about $700,000 renovating the shelter’s dorm houses on Two Notch Road, not far from Benedict College’s football stadium. While the ceremonial ribbon-cutting for the rehabbed shelter was Thursday, families are set to return to the facility on Monday.
Barrie Kirk, president of the Homeless No More board of directors, said the nonprofit is eager to be able to once again provide emergency shelter for families on the grounds at Two Notch Road.
“This is the result of our donors and our volunteers who have come together to completely renovate the space that we use to give shelter to our homeless families and children,” Kirk said. “We believe that family homelessness is solvable, and we are not going to stop until we reach that goal.”
Homeless No More offers different levels of housing for those in crisis. It has the emergency shelter for people who have just entered homelessness, transitional housing for families who are beginning to work their way out of homelessness, and affordable housing for those who are ready to live independently.
The nonprofit focuses specifically on families with children who need help, rather than single individuals. In all, 17 rooms in the emergency shelter were remodeled in an effort that began in November. A new office and common area also were added.
In 2020, 65 families with a collective 150 children sought shelter in Homeless No More’s emergency facility.
“This renovation will give families who are literally coming off the street — out of cars, evicted two days ago — a place to stay, and a team will be here to help stabilize them,” Homeless No More CEO Lila Anna Sauls said.
Sauls said the revamp of the family shelter facilities was desperately needed. When Homeless No More acquired the property about three years ago, there were holes in the floor, she said.
“We knew there were major capital improvements that needed to be done, we just had to raise the money,” Sauls told The State.
Homeless No More has about 27 employees and gets help from a legion of volunteers.
Sauls said addressing homelessness with entire families can be a challenge.
“What we say is that families are the hidden homeless,” Sauls said. “You don’t see them on Main Street, so they are not at the forefront of the community’s minds.”
Richland 1 school board member Jamie Devine was among those present for Thursday’s shelter reopening. He noted there are numerous young people in the Richland 1 system who are experiencing some level of homelessness.
Devine said organizations such as Homeless No More can help to solve the issue.
“I think this is part of the solution when it comes to homelessness,” Devine said. “I think Dr. Sauls and her group do a fantastic job working with the school district, working with the community, to ensure that students have a place to stay. This just adds to the solution. We need more of these type of developments in Columbia, because there are homeless families throughout the greater Columbia region.”
This story was originally published June 3, 2021 at 1:59 PM.
