Five Georgia communities, including Pembroke, have been selected to begin a three-year program to assist them in addressing their housing needs by the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing (GIGH).
The Georgia Initiative for Community Housing is a collaboration of the Housing and
Demographics Research Center and the Office of the Vice President for Public Service
and Outreach at the University of Georgia, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, and the Georgia Municipal Association.
During the three-year program, each community housing team receives facilitation, instruction, and technical assistance as they design and implement a housing program to improve both the quality of life of its citizens and the communities’ economic conditions.
“This is our first step in providing improved housing opportunities in our city,” said Mayor Mary Warnell. “Our team is committed to fulfilling the program requirements in an effort to meet our citizens’ housing needs as well as improving the economic conditions in Pembroke. On behalf of the City Council, I wish to thank the sponsors for selecting Pembroke as a recipient of this program.”
The centerpiece of the initiative is a series of retreats, where each housing team will work separately with a facilitator/housing professional, as well as engage in cross-community sharing and collaboration. Each community has access to technical assistance and receives continuous feedback throughout the three-year program.
Tiffany Walraven, City Council Member and Chair of the Downtown Development Authority stated, “We are honored to be chosen as one of five cities in the state of Georgia to participate in the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing. Our team worked very hard to prepare for the site visit by the selection team. As we prepared our application and site visit information, our housing team began to focus on the needs of our city. With a diverse group of housing team members, the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing will help us develop a program that will help us identify target issues that we can focus on in the years to come.”
Any city, county, or public housing authority in Georgia was eligible to apply, on behalf of a community housing team. The teams typically consist of about 12 members and include representatives from local government, business, nonprofit housing organizations and the public housing authority.
Other groups may include faith-based organizations, churches, development authorities, chamber of commerce, school system, major employers, and law enforcement.
After applications to participate in the program were received, site visits were completed and the five communities selected based on need and the ability to benefit from the program.
The program is partially funded by the Georgia Power Company, and additional in-kind services are provided by the Georgia Electric Membership Corporation, the University of Georgia’s Archway Partnership, and the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
Each year, at least five communities are selected to participate in the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing. Other cities chosen were Dalton, Greensboro, Lithonia and Roswell.