Local nonprofits team up to find solutions for the community

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Homelessness continues to be a local problem and the face of it is changing.

In April the Salvation Army says they had three nights where they sheltered more women than men. In decades of service, the commander at the Salvation Army says he’s never seen that.

We stopped by the Project Share resource fair as local nonprofits team up to work on finding solutions for the community.

We asked nearly everyone in line receiving help if they ever thought they’d be here.

“My God no. I never could imagine anything like this,” said Wayne Gooding.

Gooding has been staying at the Salvation Army for about two months. He stopped by the resource fair to get a warm meal and check on his health since that’s what brought him to the shelter in the first place.

“I was in the hospital, and when I was in the hospital I just lost everything I own,” he said.

Behind every face in the line, you’ll find a story. Rarely is it the one you imagined when you passed them on the street.

Major Jonathan Raymer said: “The last month of March, we averaged 17 children a night, two-thirds of those staying in our Center of Hope have employment.”

Gooding said: “People think they’re lazy. They don’t wanna get a job. That’s not it. A lot of people are veterans that have been messed up in wars, and a lot of people have disabilities.”

It’s a daunting problem. Finding a fix starts with action.

“We can do something,” said Raymer.

The Salvation Army started this monthly resource fair three months ago. They didn’t have time to polish it or host a bunch of meetings to figure out the details.

“First month we had about 50, last month 140. This month we’re hoping to have that or more come and be able to receive resources,” said Raymer.

This event is on the last Friday of every month. How can you help? We’ll call it the three T’s.

The Salvation Army needs toiletries and towels. They also need your time volunteers to serve meals. Three simple ways you can get started today.

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