WFAE
Octavia Lindsay moved out of Gracious Hands transitional home into her own townhome in January. Without Gracious Hands and the volunteers, then I would not be where I m at today, she says.
During the pandemic, millions of dollars in aid have flowed to programs that fight homelessness and housing insecurity. In Charlotte, the transitional housing program Gracious Hands didn t take a penny, yet it s continuing to grow and help women and children in need.
Gracious Hands started in 2015 in a rented house in west Charlotte. Since then, 270 women and their children have graduated to permanent housing. The organization now owns two houses in north Charlotte, each with room for five homeless women and their children. Over the past year, they ve weathered the pandemic, said founder Sonja Chisolm.