SAVANNAH, Ga. () – The Tom D. Austin house is closing permanently, forcing nearly half a dozen families to find a new home.
“Most of us are left with nowhere to go,” said Jessica Martin, a former tenant.
The 12-room apartment building meant to affordably house once homeless families lost funding from the federal government.
Tenants were alerted in March the building, in existence since Jan. 2017, was closing.
In it’s final hours before closing Monday, Martin said eerie aura filled the building.
“There’s an almost eerie quietness,” said Martin. “People are shuttling between apartments, gathering their belongings. The kids are looking around, confused, with some too young to grasp the situation.”
At 33 and expecting, Martin traveled on a Greyhound bus to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she’ll stay with family temporarily, leaving behind most of her possessions, even her toddler’s toys.
“It’s hard to come to terms with. We’re just doing the best we can, we’re just trying to survive,” she said.
She told the government has not helped her or other families find a home.
“I wish they would consider what it’s like to lie in bed with the fear of losing everything important in life. How would they handle the panic and uncertainty if it happened to them?”
Nonprofit group Family Promise of Chatham County has housed families in the Austin House in the past, and a spokesperson told they are helping four displaced families find new homes.
We have reached out to the Austin House for more information and are awaiting a response.
