- City's emergency funding for homeless shelter at T.A. Wilson Academy ends March 31
- Residents in Action is trying to raise funds to keep the shelter open, but probably won't have sufficient funds
- Video shows T.A. Wilson Academy and operators of emergency homeless shelter Residents in Action
- Residents in Action recently chosen by City to be new owners of T.A. Wilson Academy buildings
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
The emergency homeless shelter at T.A.Wilson Academy is likely to close on March 31 or soon thereafter, say its operators — Residents in Action. I'm your neighborhood reporter Darius Udrys with an update on the future of this building and its occupants.
The issue: a City grant that has been keeping the shelter open expires Sunday. Residents in Action started a fundraiser to keep the shelter operational for one more month. According to their Facebook page, the cost to do that would be $30,000. Organizers say they've only raised $4000.
When I spoke to Residents in Action CEO and Founder Tashia Carter last week, she said the emergency shelter would likely close:
"The expectation right now is that the emergency shelter is going to close on 3/31, but working hard to try to find funding to prevent people having to leave."
Carter says she and her colleagues will do their best to accommodate the 35 or so individuals currently staying at the shelter in the Wilson Annex -- part of the school that was previously renovated by the City. The pallet houses, she says, will have to go because the ordinance permitting them was only temporary.
Residents in Action has been running the emergency shelter at T.A.Wilson Academy since late last year. The City recently decided to sell the building to the organization. It plans to turn the former school into a homeless resource center.
What kind of agreement Residents in Action will sign with the City to use the building until the sale is official remains unclear. The sale is unlikely to be finalized by the end of the emergency grant.
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