We thank Rebecca Mattox, Chief Executive Officer of the Phoenix Center, for sharing this blog post. Demand for their services continues to increase and there is a sense of urgency that is beyond anything they have seen before.

Delivering quality affordable housing is always challenging. Battling “Not in My Back Yard” also known as NIMBYISM and the financial realities are typically at the top of that list. When our Development Team comprised of NHE, Creative Builders and SCG Development reviewed a RFP in 2016 …..

Learn more from our guest blog writer, Taylor Davis, President of NHE as he shares the development process for a best in practice model of mixed income housing. The Greenville Homeless Alliance is proud to have participated in advocating for the development of Renaissance Place which opened in late 2021 as quality, safe, affordable housing for seniors age 55 year and above.

This spring, I had the opportunity be an intern with the Greenville Homeless Alliance. I was drawn to their organization because of my passion to advocate for better physical and mental health for individuals and communities. Seeing how the Greenville Homeless Alliance is committed to advocacy, collaboration, and education to create change is why I invested my time with the organization.

Learn more from our guest blog writer and spring 2022 intern, Sarah Ritter. Sarah graduated this month with a Bachelor of Science in Public and Global Health.

Obviously John Donne, a 17th-century English poet, didn’t have the 21st-century Greenville Homeless Alliance in mind when he wrote these lines. But for me, this poem has always been a touchstone; an unflinching reminder of my own connectedness and obligation to the rest of my fellow human beings -- known and unknown, seen and unseen.

Learn more about the connection between homelessness and John Donne’s poem from guest blog writer, Tish Young McCutchen, Director of The Jolley Foundation. Tish is also a founding member of the Greenville Homeless Alliance and served as Treasurer.

Greenville is home to 4,000+ remarkable nonprofits with approximately 6.4 organizations serving every 10,000 people. And yet with all these resources, I wonder, have we significantly disrupted cycles of poverty in our community? Disrupted cycles of instability? Homelessness? Trauma?

I believe our nation is experiencing the effects of a “post pandemic, relief funded” economy, and the needs of members in our community have changed again.

Learn more from our guest blog writer, Emily Kodat, Crisis Ministry Coordinator at Buncombe Street United Methodist Church.

Currently there is a significant need for rental properties in Greenville County. While there has been significant emphasis placed on providing emergency rental and utilities assistance to those in crisis, the challenges low-income families face continue to be affordability and availability.

The Greenville Homeless Alliance was created because this community - direct service providers, elected officials, business leaders, the faith community, healthcare, philanthropy, and so many others - recognized the need for an organization to lead the effort to understand and address the system-level issues that cause homelessness. It was also created because Greenville is a place of action plus compassion. GHA and its founding partners believe Greenville is only great when it's good for all.

What does your family mean to you? Maybe you have a family you don’t get along with, or maybe you have a family who you look forward to seeing every day. Regardless of the kind of family you have grown up in, most of us can think of at least one person in our family who would support us if we were going through a tough situation. Now consider what your home means to you. When you get home from school or from work, where is the first place you go?

Thank you to everyone who attended the inaugural iGNITE Luncheon which included 90 people in person at Grace Church, watch parties across Greenville, and even viewers in seven different states. We were inspired and ignited by Alan Graham of Mobile Loaves & Fishes and Community First! Village to aim for an unprecedented level of collaboration in ending homelessness in our community.

Since 2018, the Greenville Homeless Alliance has provided policymakers and our community with the evidence-based, nonpartisan data they need to increase options for individuals and families seeking stability and a safe, affordable home in Greenville County. The logo was intentionally designed to show that when public and private partners join together with a collective approach that is focused on the person, we can achieve durable solutions.

It was the summer of 2016 and I was riding in a pickup truck with my friend, Alan, from Westminster Presbyterian Church, who is the Director of Finance and Property Management for Allen Temple CEDC. We were in the neighborhood called Pleasant Valley. Do you know this neighborhood? It is just off Augusta Road.

They say it takes a village, but what if there's no village to take you. And they say home is where the heart is. Well, if that’s true…Then sadly, on any given day in the USA…550,000 plus people are heartless. Without home, that is…or anywhere to hang their hat.

Data shows that the economy is responding well to the COVID-19 vaccination progress and the large federal stimulus efforts last year and this year. However, our assessment of the economic situation leads us to believe that despite this progress there are pockets of ongoing suffering that require continued efforts to assist those most missed by the gains.