Nonprofits showing support for homeless shelter proposal
Nonprofits showing support for homeless shelter proposal By Bria Bolden | March 11, 2021 at 11:21 PM EST - Updated March 11 at 11:35 PM
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Some community organizations that serve the homeless in the community are in favor of not only a proposed shelter, but also transitional housing a special use permit will allow in Savannah.
West Savannah non profit organizations like West Savannah Community Organization have served the area for several years.
They’ve expressed their approval for a proposed homeless shelter on Augusta Avenue.
“We embrace that we will eventually work together as a neighborhood at the end of the day when everybody who has been in an uproar goes home. At the end of the day we will still live here and we will still get along with that as they build and develop,” said Marsha Buford, President of West Savannah Community Organization.
Savannah Alderwoman Bernetta Lanier has been a vocal opponent of the Salvation Army s plans for a homeless facility, while her ties to a non-profit with plans for the same site have brought new questions.
Lanier is the registered agent for Ivory Bay Development Corp., a non-profit formed in 2006, according to the Georgia Secretary of State s website. The non-profit lists Deidre Grim as the chief executive officer; Oscar Lanier as the chief financial officer and Malinda Thornton as the secretary.
Ivory Bay s plans calls for housing and retail on the site at 2305 Augusta Road, property currently under contract for purchase by the Salvation Army from the owner, the federal Housing and Urban Development Agency.