Saved By Grace raising money to expand services
Aug. 16—Saved By Grace of Southeast Georgia, a nonprofit that aids the homeless, is continuing to adapt to meet the evolving needs in this area.
It is among the groups noting an increase recently in the homeless population in Glynn County.
At its 14-bed shelter at 186 Cornerstone Drive, Saved By Grace staff and volunteers have seen more foot traffic, with homeless individuals seeking its onsite laundry, shower, food and social services.
"We are seeing new people that we haven't seen before," said Maria Gamble, one of Saved By Grace's founders. "It seems to me that we've had an increase in people from other states ... We've had a lot of people that are from the North that have come down here for whatever reason."
Others are traveling from the downtown Brunswick area, where they seek out the Well, a day center that offers services to the homeless.
A Point-In-Time Count conducted earlier this year surveyed 188 people who were homeless in downtown Brunswick.
Saved By Grace plans to open a satellite office in the downtown Brunswick area, away from the commercial district, that will provide services like laundry, showers, support getting documents like IDs and more.
The new site will help address the growing need in this part of the county.
Saved By Grace is working now to raise the funds needed to open the new site.
"We have been offered a matching grant through Rhema Community Church that is going to be used specifically for the purchase of a downtown location," Gamble said.
The church will offer up to $15,000 in matching funds. Saved By Grace hopes to raise the additional $15,000 by Oct. 1.
Services at the satellite office will be structured so that people will be onsite for no longer than maybe an hour, said co-founder Donna Howard.
Saved By Grace has implemented a similar structure at its shelter, where individuals seeking laundry or shower services or picking up food and other supplies are asked to leave once they've completed their task.
To donate, go to savedbygraceglynn.com/.
Saved By Grace is also trying to help homeless individuals find affordable housing.
It began a partnership last year with Safe Harbor Children's Center to provide weekly opportunities for housing assessments to people who live outside or in their cars.
The collaboration has so far helped around 40 people find housing.
The lack of affordable housing in Glynn County is a constant obstacle for those trying to help the homeless, Gamble said.
"The cost of living isn't matching the wage increase," she said. "Even $15 an hour doesn't always cut it, especially with the cost of gas and the cost of everything (else)."
Those who have been housed through the partnership are required to have stable employment.
Saved By Grace also requires the men who stay at its shelter to attend regular onsite recovery meetings, some of which are hosted by the local recovery community New Roots Glynn.
Saved By Grace offers people at the shelter transportation to work when needed and to medical appointments.
It is in need of volunteers who can support shelter and office operations. It also needs donations, especially of water, sports drinks and camping equipment and gear.
"We just want people to know that we care, not only in this area of town but the downtown area as well," Howard said. "We want people to know that they matter. Our goal here is to make sure that they feel like they've been seen."
