As Savannah’s homeless population continues to grow with more than 1,000 residents who are unsheltered, the Salvation Army has proposed a transitional use shelter in west Savannah to aid nearly 200 of those residents. The site of the proposed shelter has caused controversy due to its proximity to the location of The Weeping Time, which is believed to be the largest sale of enslaved people in U.S. history.
The site’s painful past along with a surrounding community that is already fighting 90% poverty rates in some areas and an urgent need to address homelessness has sparked debate and impassioned pleas among city officials, advocates of the unsheltered and local historians.
For families who continue to struggle with food insecurity within Chatham County, America’s Second Harvest and the Savannah-Chatham County Schools have joined forces to have fully stocked food pantries at local schools.
The pilot program was unveiled Tuesday at Andrea B. Williams Elementary, and the goal is to eventually have food pantries at all 55 school sites. Food pantries are currently being set up at 23 schools.
The idea for establishing these food pantries at the schools was sparked by conversations between Ann Levett, district superintendent, and Mary Jane Crouch, executive director of America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia.
“Doing it in partnership with Second Harvest makes it really smart because Second Harvest has a strong reputation for being across the district,” Levett said. “Now, we re bringing those resources to the schools.”
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|January 6, 2021 at 3:15 PM EST - Updated January 6 at 11:27 PM
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - The Savannah-Chatham Public School System will remain virtual, and students will not return to in-person instruction on Monday, Jan. 11.
The three criteria for returning to in-person learning are all in the “red” category, meaning COVID-19 transmission is too high in the county for the school system to consider it safe for children to be in class.
A statement released by the school system said, in part “When the District recessed for winter break, it was our hope that metrics would stabilize following the increase after the Thanksgiving break. Unfortunately, that has not proven to be the case. Instead, all three of the indicators that are monitored - Community Transmission Index, Percentage of Positive Tests, and Daily Case Rate per 100,000 – are in the RED ZONE and rising.”