Glynn County hears privately funded 'Under 1 Roof' plan to house people exiting homelessness

At a Glynn County Board of Commissioners work session on Aug. 20, 2024, local nonprofit leaders and clergy laid out a privately financed plan called Under 1 Roof to provide residential work programs and supportive services for people experiencing acute housing insecurity. Presenters said private donors have pledged $6 million toward a $10 million goal and asked the commission to support outreach and siting decisions while the project pursues private funding, not county expenditures.

Kiva Case, president and CEO of the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation, told commissioners that Under 1 Roof is a fund to channel philanthropic dollars into accountability-based residential programs and supportive services for veterans, women with children and men seeking reentry. "We currently have philanthropists who have committed $6,000,000 towards a $10,000,000 effort," Case said, framing the initiative as privately funded assistance that would not draw on county tax dollars.

Father Alan Akridge, senior pastor at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, described the church’s experience hosting and supporting residents and presented comparative data he said show the program did not drive increased crime or depressed property values around a prior Saved by Grace location. Akridge cited county call-for-service counts and public property-transaction data, arguing the evidence does not support neighborhood fears about safety or values.

Donna Howard, executive director and a founder of Saved by Grace, described program eligibility and operations. She said men in the program must pass background checks, hold verifiable employment, follow curfews and participate in on-site supportive services. Howard said Saved by Grace stopped offering walk-in day services Aug. 1, 2024, and that it now provides mobile outreach and appointment-only services; the organization proposed a site at 5140 Black Island Highway with a capacity to house "at least 29 men," an 8-foot privacy fence and 24-hour security.

Commissioners expressed general support for Saved by Grace’s work but repeatedly emphasized that neighborhood acceptance would be needed for any siting decision. The chair said the commission would expect outreach and community education before any formal action. One commissioner pointed to a petition with more than 700 signatures opposing the proposed location; others urged the presenters to engage adjacent neighborhoods and submit the specific assurances neighbors would want.

Scott (presenter) and staff agreed to post the presentation packet online and to provide electronic versions for county review. The chair clarified that no vote would be taken at the work session and that the commission would take the information under advisement while staff and the nonprofit continued neighborhood engagement.

The presentation emphasized that the Under 1 Roof initiative would not require county funding and that its backers consider the plan a complement to existing services. Commissioners asked for additional outreach and conditions that would reassure neighbors, including zoning or contractual assurances to prevent a future program change. The commission did not take formal action on the project at the meeting.