A welcome addition
We're nearing the conclusion of the Navy School drama, or at least we're getting close into moving into the next stage of drama which is where we see how much clout the Augusta legislators have in controlling the purse strings.
Namely, the University of Georgia has submitted its plans for what to do with the site, which is develop a new medical campus. This is good, and I think a welcome first step in the development of a potential bioscience and bioresearch industry here.
But, of more importance to me, is the generosity involved in the proposed $7.9 million payment to five area non-profits - Advantage Behavioral Systems, Athens Area Homeless Shelter, AIDS Athens, Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens and Athens-Oconee CASA - to purchase land and build and maintain new homes for their proposed ventures (everything ranging from a child care center managed by IHN of Athens to a medical clinic run by AIDS Athens). These non-profits will operate under the umbrella of a new organization called Athens Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH).
This is most certainly good and, speaking as someone who will serve as president of IHN of Athens next year, also challenging. Each of these non-profits will have to staff these new, much-needed ventures, and those funds will have to come through the private sector through the generosity of others. While this is challenging, it's also important for folks to know this because many I've talked to assume the non-profits are getting this lump sum to just do whatever they want with.
The money is tied to the land and the buildings. The administrative costs, however, must be generated by the non-profits.
Namely, the University of Georgia has submitted its plans for what to do with the site, which is develop a new medical campus. This is good, and I think a welcome first step in the development of a potential bioscience and bioresearch industry here.
But, of more importance to me, is the generosity involved in the proposed $7.9 million payment to five area non-profits - Advantage Behavioral Systems, Athens Area Homeless Shelter, AIDS Athens, Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens and Athens-Oconee CASA - to purchase land and build and maintain new homes for their proposed ventures (everything ranging from a child care center managed by IHN of Athens to a medical clinic run by AIDS Athens). These non-profits will operate under the umbrella of a new organization called Athens Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH).
This is most certainly good and, speaking as someone who will serve as president of IHN of Athens next year, also challenging. Each of these non-profits will have to staff these new, much-needed ventures, and those funds will have to come through the private sector through the generosity of others. While this is challenging, it's also important for folks to know this because many I've talked to assume the non-profits are getting this lump sum to just do whatever they want with.
The money is tied to the land and the buildings. The administrative costs, however, must be generated by the non-profits.
posted by Jmac at 10:45 AM
4 Comments:
Congrats on your appointment/election to running the IHP, that's a great group.
I've been just amazed at how much y'all have done for the families you work w/, and the way the work you do w/them truly changes their lives, not just in the immediate moments of need, but for the future.
I think it's awesome that in such a short time, you've grown from a very small group to a really viable, community grown solution to the problems faced by those who struggle in poverty.
I remember when I was running the office for the local Democratic party a few years back, and we had a couple of gentlemen come in looking for work.
We weren't able to pay, of course, but there was a fellow who came and helped us clean and even rode w/us to dispose of our trash a couple of times. Not because he would benefit from it personally, but because he wanted to contribute.
We also registered him to vote, his family came in and made phone calls, helped get sign in sheets copied, arranged our food donations for us before our events, and just generally networked while they were there.
Their eagerness to be a part of our effort wasn't based on partisan politics, but rather a way to set an example for their young children, while they looked for paying work.
They were reminded by our acceptance of them that they are valuable children of Spirit, and given the opportunity to rebuild their self esteeem, so often crushed when families are unable to provide for themselves.
IHP has also offered very valuable workshops on advocacy work and educated those of us who work to empower the poor, so that we were aware of what we could and couldn't do, and the differences between types of non-profits.
This type of org is the real grass roots effort that A-CC has needed for years, and a resource and referal effort that links those in crisis w/the resources that are available.
Once a family loses their home, they also lose access to telephones, mail, find that they can no longer afford transportation, which limits the jobs they are able to apply for.
But they're trying, and I am a huge fan of the IHP.
This is the kind of group Athens needs, and I hope when you get a chance, you'll take a few minutes to post the numbers of families you've successfuly rehomed, including access to skills training, classes on parenting, education about financial traps and pitfalls designed to exploit the poor. I understand that you also provide child care so that the parents can spend their days looking for educational and employment opportunities.
Brag a little, JMac, and let us know what we can do to help. Most of us don't have a lot of money to spare, but I think that if we had a list of specifics that your clients need, Athenians would donate those items, we all have items around our homes that we don't use often frequently enough to justify the space they take up.
Way to go, keep up the good work, and let us know what we can donate to help, please!
all blessings,
Madelyn Powell
The UGA plan looks like a good one. I just don't know that I would characterize it as "generous" as federal law requires them to make some provision for the homeless.
It's like suggesting that I made a "generous" provision for public recreating the last time I paid my parking tickets.
I have some concerns about whether or not the non-profits are being given a white elephant. Sure it will be nice to have nice new shiny facilities, but are these non-profits going to be able to generate the income stream to operate and maintain the facilities. I'm not knocking the agencies or their missions. But I'm reasonably familiar with three of them, and of the three, only one may have this kind of revenue producing ability. That would be Advantage, which can tap into various government funded revenue streams.
I'm thinking of the Action building, which as social service agencies go, was a substantial operation with a substantial and reliable income stream. It allowed its HQ to deteriorate to the point the building was unusable.
Those are valid concerns, and ones that I share too. The good thing is that we anticipate unprecedented cooperation among these non-profits as well as four to five years to build up our reserves and expand our donor base.
It'll be a challenge, but unless we jump off the deep end we won't know if we can swim.
Just a note about maintenance of the facilities...the $7.9 million for the development of the property is actually just over $6 million for the property itself and $1.9 million for maintenance. Though I agree that our agencies have a great deal of work ahead of us with regard to program operations, I can assure you that the buildings will not fall into disrepair.
The body charged with the development and maintenance of the facilities is the Athens Homeless Property Corporation, a group independent of the Athens Resource Center for the Homeless (though there are some shared board members).
Thanks for the post about the project, JMac.
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