MACON, Ga. — Mike Austin has been with the Macon Housing Authority for 37 years. He said they've been working for decades to create more affordable housing to reduce the percentage of homeless people in the area.
"It's hard to afford a good place to live," Austin said.
The downtown apartments are in their final stage of construction. Within the 82 units, 16 of them will be managed by a homeless resource center.
Austin said finding a roof over your head is challenging in today's economy. That's why they teamed up with DePaul USA to build an apartment complex filled with affordable housing.
"And the really neat thing about this is that this is the first affordable housing that's been built in downtown Macon in decades," Austin said.
Not only is the new complex downtown. It's right behind DePaul USA's Macon homeless resource center, Daybreak. Austin said there's a reason for the location.
"So it offers people who will end up living here an opportunity to live in downtown Macon and work in downtown Macon," Austin said.
Gary Musolf works with DePaul USA and volunteers at Daybreak. He said he hopes this new project will reduce the homeless population in Macon.
"And then at the same time help them through case managers in order to find jobs so they can stay secure in this nature," Musolf said.
Jacqueline Duncan is one of Daybreak's case managers. She said she will have an office in the new complex, and her clients are excited about the opportunity to move in.
"Absolute joy to see our clients. The look in their eyes when they can move into safe, affordable housing. It's very enjoyable," Duncan said.
Austin said applications for the units are open and competitive.
"We opened the waiting list for this property about two and a half weeks ago. We already have well over 100 people," Austin said.
Musolf said 80 people from DePaul International are coming to the United States for the first time.
"...And they're coming to Macon, Georgia. We're in ten other cities, but they're going to come to Macon, Georgia because our community has done such a great job supporting our community," Musolf said.
The grand opening is currently scheduled for late May.
DAYBREAK SLEEPOUT 2024
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