VALDOSTA – Homeless families within the Valdosta City Schools system will be able to seek refuge in a transitional home facility.

Valdosta City Council recent approved TEACH Outreach Ministries’ request for a conditional use permit at 606 S. Lee St.

Teaching Educating Advancing Christian Health Outreach has been serving the community at the location since 2004 by providing weekly meals on wheels services to the elderly and sick (averaging 45-50 meal deliveries per week), in-house meals to more than 30 people per week, clothes closet, food box ministry, computer classes, educational classes and a weekly community Bible study.

Elsie C. Napier, pastor of TEACH Outreach Ministries and TEACH Inc., said the group entered talks with Valdosta City Schools homeless caseworkers and learned there were more than 300 homeless children living in hotels with a parent, sometimes with up to six people sharing one room.

“We immediately began planning and working in collaboration with VCS on how we may become a positive impact in the lives of these homeless families. Thereby, TEACH Transitional Home was born. The 606 S. Lee St. property is a beautiful two-story Antebellum-style home built in 1906 by its original owner, Mr. Thomas Hudson. We have converted six of its seven spacious bedrooms to serve as a temporary home for these homeless families. The home will house up to 18 individuals, depending on the size of the family, for a period up to 12 months,” she said.

Matt Martin, city planning and zoning administrator, said given the applicant’s positive track record, the limited size and residential character of the existing building, planning staff supports the proposed use with appropriate conditions that maintain the character area and control of the facility with the applicant, those conditions being:

– Approval shall be granted in the name of the applicant only, for a transitional housing facility as defined by the Land Development Regulations but is not a halfway house nor an open shelter for substance abusers. Maximum occupancy of the facility shall be determined by the fire marshal.

– The existing building and residential character of the property shall be maintained with no major building expansions.

– All parking for the facility shall be off-street and continue to be “paving optional” at the discretion of the city engineer.

– Conditional use approval shall expire after one year from the date of approval if no updated certificate of occupancy has been approved for the facility by that date.

Mayor Pro Tem Vivian Miller-Cody asked Martin and Napier if the facility would separate older teenagers from their families as the proposal mentioned focusing on younger children.

Napier clarified that the VCS recommended focusing on younger families because “if you start mixing 13-year-olds with 6-year-olds and other families” it would not be optimal for their living situation.

“That was never our option to divide families and that is what our target population will be, of children that are under fifth-grade age. So, those families will be together. If there’s a family that has a teenager that’s 15 or 16, our facility will not be an option for them,” she said.

City Council unanimously approved the request as well as all other rezoning items during its most recent meeting.