At the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Thursday, Feb. 15 meeting, the board decided unanimously that it could spare $1 million in county money to support the Servant Center – an organization that helps homeless veterans and others get back on their feet and into permanent housing.
The Servant Center Board of Directors voted to purchase the Holden Heights Building – a 37,000 square foot former nursing home at 214 W. Market St– in order to provide for expanded program needs as well as to add a medical respite unit.
The purchase price of the building is $3.3 million and renovations are expected to cost just over $1.4 million. With a total project price tag of roughly $4.7 million, the group needs a lot of financial help. And it’s been getting it – from the federal government, the state, the City of Greensboro, and, now, after the February 15 vote, from Guilford County.
The Servant Center already has funding commitments of $2.9 million and is in the process of seeking other funding opportunities to fill a $300,000 shortfall once Guilford County finishes its giving. Guilford County plans to hand the organization another half million dollars in fiscal year 2024-2025.
The new home of Servant Center is expected to be in operation by early 2025.
Since 1993, the Servant Center has been following its mission: “to empower the homeless and disabled, particularly veterans, to become independent contributing members of our community through housing, healthcare, and restorative services.”
At the meeting, Commissioner Pat Tillman, a veteran himself, spoke highly of the group’s work, and other commissioners as well said it is important to help support those who had given so much for the country.
The Center was originally planning to build a new facility on its current site to give the veterans living at Servant House their own bedrooms and bathrooms. However, the Holden Heights Building was thought to be a better choice for meeting the organization’s needs.
Right now, more than 20 veterans at the Servant Center share 13 bedrooms and three bathrooms.
Currently, the group operates a 21-bed transitional housing program for disabled veterans who are experiencing homelessness and it has 17 permanent supportive housing apartments in the Glenwood and Haworth Houses for low-income veterans with disabilities.
The Servant Center representatives say Guilford County needs a medical respite – a short-term residential care for homeless people who are too sick or frail to recover from a physical illness or injury on their own, but not sick enough to be in a hospital. Additional space at the new facility will allow the Servant Center to meet that need with 22 medical respite beds.
Some operations of the group are funded by VA grants, but the medical respite bed program will be paid for by Medicaid expansion funds.
Wonderful story showing how our tax dollars should be used. Imagine if our taxes were not wasted on pet projects, numerous unneeded EDI hires, and other lame far left programs, what could really be accomplished. It would be a miracle to provide for those who really need it vs those who flock to Guilford County because we telegraph we’ll feed you and take care of all your needs plus the many who just live on the dole. Why work?
I am heartened to see some help for our veterans. As an aside, I hope that they don’t decide at some later date to move the veterans out to house illegal aliens as has been done in other cities. The Veteran’s Administration is already treating 167,000 illegal aliens with medical and dental care depriving those who gave a good portion of their lives to serve this country much needed care.
I think the word “veterans” is a cover.
As a board member (Servant Center) and Marine Corps veteran, I’m asking for clarification: (veterans is a cover). I’m hoping I misunderstood your meaning.
The Marine Corps League of Greensboro, (all honorably discharged Marines), vetted the Servant Center years ago and found it to be among the premier organizations serving veterans, as did city and county officials. Their current batting average for vets becoming self supporting in three years or less is 92%. The MCL has for years, donated what we can but we are nowhere near capable of the level of support needed by the SC at this point in time. Those residing at the SC presently have three bathrooms for 21 bedrooms. The purchase of this facility is an answer to our prayers for those we are helping return to (productive individuals) status, and we could not be more grateful to Nancy and Skip for their support.
We can all have our opinions regarding appropriate allocation of tax money, but we are much less a “handout” organization than a “hand-up” one as our goal is to produce, on their own, self supporting men and women. The SC is much more akin to investing in blue chip stocks, “our vets”, than a hole into which you throw money.
And Holden Heights is currently owned by?