City Council Passes Homeless Services Resolution

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — With just one “no” vote and four “yes” votes, Columbia City Council passed a resolution putting United Way of the Midlands at the helm of regional coordination of homeless services. “Working together with other entities to find a solution that works for everybody, I think is part of what we do,” says Mac Bennett, President and CEO of United Way of the Midlands The cost of the project, from November 1, 2014 – June 30, 2015, is $100,000. But, that’s not the only resolution passed regarding homeless services. Crandall Sims reporting, “Also during today’s work session, city council passed a resolution allowing United Way to work with Transitions on an inclement weather center. That center will be housed right here on Calhoun Street and will be open from November of this year until March of next year.” The cost of the center is estimated not to exceed $350,000. It will be housed in the same buildings as the emergency shelter, which was open from Fall 2013 until Summer 2014. During that time, nearly 1,500 people were helped. “The weather is turning cold. We know we have homeless people in the community that we need to make provisions for during the coldest days of the year,” says Bennett Transitions, the homeless center that opened in June 2011, will also be helping the United Way and the City of Columbia on homeless services. It’s a move some believe is a step toward a solution for Columbia’s homeless. “We need to have more opportunities or more options when people are moving out of Transitions, moving out of program homeless services and into affordable housing. I think this is one of the things it’s going to help do,” says Bennett