- The city of Valdosta organizaed a town hall to address housing.
- A senate study report suggested that .5% of state rental assitance has made it to Lowndes County.
- Watch the video to see how neighbors and advocates alike view the state of housing.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
The city wants your input on housing.
"We are heading into a pandemic... an eviction pandemic."
I'm Malia Thomas, in Valdosta, and I'm hitting the pavement to hear how our neighbors feel about the state of housing.
"People are hurting financially."
Meet Dr. Ronnie Mathis. You might recognize him as I've spoke with him about homelessness in Valdosta in the past.
He tells me he received a troubling update about the housing situation on the 14th.
"When I opened my e-mail today to my surprise the number found evictions for yesterday was 92, so what that means is now office is going to be overran."
Hurricane Idalia also made the housing issue worse in Valdosta.
Neighbor Lisa Gorman was displayed by the storm and has been seeking shelter for herself and her daughter until they can move into new housing, but red tape has been in the way.
"My landlord after that happened to her she don't have no other house for me to move in and then the curtain house where I went on Section 8 so do the inspection the landlord is not going to let me stay in there even though I paid them $1000 deposit already."
I checked with the Georgia State Senate Research Office.
In a report of the Senate Study Committee on Unsheltered Housing, representatives from Greater Valdosta United Way reported to the senate that:
"Although they are based in the 22nd largest county in Georgia, they received 0.5% of the funding allocated for Georgia rental assistance."
Dr. Mathis proposed that one of the solutions would be for the county and city to seek additional aid.
Currently, the city has invested over $3 million in affordable housing. I'm Malia Thomas, reporting for ABC27.
