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Chatham County approves resolution to recharter local homeless authority, create interagency council
Summary
The Board approved a resolution to recharter the Chatham-Savannah Authority for the Homeless and establish an Interagency Council on Homelessness to coordinate policy and legislative engagement; commissioners discussed camp cleanups, outreach and the point-in-time count.
The Chatham County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution to recharter the Chatham-Savannah Authority for the Homeless and to establish an Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) to coordinate local agencies, municipalities and nonprofits addressing homelessness.
Commissioners said the move is intended to create a formal coordinating body to streamline services, improve outreach and support legislative actions at the state level.
The resolution, placed on the agenda as a request for board approval, passed after a motion and second. During public comment and discussion, youth commissioner Jada asked about how county authorities respond to unsheltered camps under bridges, highways and alleyways. Commissioners and staff described ongoing efforts that include property-owner engagement, outreach via the authority, and use of the point-in-time count to identify and connect unsheltered residents with services.
Commissioner Aaron Whiteley said the resolution strengthens county cooperation with existing nonprofit and municipal partners. "What this does is it gives us a lever to engage our state legislature," Whiteley said, noting the county and nonprofit partners already perform counts and outreach and that the resolution formalizes a shared mechanism to align resources.
Chairman Chester A. Ellis and other commissioners described a dual approach of compassion and enforcement: outreach and service offers for unsheltered people alongside processes to address unlawful encampments on private property when landowners request enforcement. Commissioners noted that some dumped household items and trash complicate cleanups at encampments.
The resolution authorizes county engagement with the rechartered authority and the interagency council to pursue local policy and legislative coordination. The transcript records a motion to approve the resolution; the board voted to approve it. The meeting record does not include a roll-call tally in the public transcript.
