Seeking solution to homelessness in Polk County is a priority
Polk School District statistics reveal that 384 people were classified as homeless during the 2015-2016 school year.
Additionally, Georgia Kids Count reports that 20.6 percent of the individuals residing in Polk County are living in poverty. An estimated 1,999 of these are listed as children.
Efforts are being made to solve homelessness in this area, one home at a time. The RockmartAragon community has been working with Action Ministries for the past several years to combat this problem.
During that time, funding and community support were provided by local churches and individuals while counseling and education in family budgeting and other life skills were provided by Action Ministries. From the beginning the emphasis was to keep families together.
“We visited homeless shelters in Polk and Bartow counties,” said Sylvia Pound, an active volunteer during the time the program was launched.
While some of the local ministers were visiting a homeless community in Rockmart, one of them suggested the group contact Action Ministries. The organization was later invited to present their program to a group of church leaders and others in the community.
This led to the founding of the RockmartAragon Transitional House in 2010. The House provided a stable environment for one family during the 18-24 month transition from homelessness to selfsupport.
Today, Action Ministries’ Rapid Rehousing program is offering the opportunity to become a partner in an attempt to solve homelessness in Cedartown, one home at a time.
This commitment will require:
A belief that homelessness does not have to not exist in the community.
Trust that solutions are possible.
Proclaim that actions, as people of faith, will bring a belief that individuals are responsible for loving others.
Assert that through relationships support is to be extended to residents in the community that each individual can support an effort to build a stronger, stable environment for residents.
Action Ministries rapidly places homeless families in safe, affordable housing and follows up with the nec- essary long-term, wraparound support services to keep them stably housed while they work to become self-sufficient.
Therefore, a meeting of community and church leaders was held at One Door Polk, 424 N Main St., Cedartown. Representatives from Action Ministries were there to present and explain the program.
An educational meeting was also held to help residents of Polk to understand how difficult it is to survive in a low-income environment.
Adults in Polk County had the opportunity to understand what it is like to survive on a limited income in a “Poverty Simulation.”
Participants were role-playing and simulated what it would be like if deserted by the breadwinner, be a homeless person or recipients of TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). Still others could be senior citizens with a disability or retired or those raising their grandchildren.
Those taking part received enough money for basic necessities and shelter during the course of four 15-minute weeks, which would be a month of survival on a low-income.
The simulation was held in a large space with family members using a small amount of money to take advantage of what was offered by volunteers providing services such as a bank, grocery store, employer, utility company, pawn broker, social service agency, faith- based agency, payday and title loan facility, mortgage company, school, and child care center.
Those taking part in the event heard a presentation from representatives of Action Ministries and gathered in groups before beginning their simulated experience.