Iredell County Board of Commissioners, Statesville City Council and United Way of Iredell helping fund effort
IFN Staff
The remaining residents of the Brookwood Inn now have less than a week to vacate the premises.
Residents were notified in late July that they had until August 31 to move out of their rooms at the Statesville motel. Developers are planning to demolish the building to make way for new development.
Fifth Street Ministries has been working with the families and individuals to find them housing before the end of the month.
The nonprofit announced late last week that more than half of the Brookwood residents have now moved out. Some residents have moved to other hotels and others, with the help of local nonprofits, have found permanent housing. A couple was able to move to another city after receiving help with transportation costs.
It’s been a community effort. A number of nonprofits, including Restoration Road Ministries, Goodwill and Yokefellow, have been providing financial assistance and household items to help the Brookwood residents settle into new housing. Community members have also donated furnishings and even taken in family pets of the Brookwood residents while they are in transition.
The effort has not stopped there.
The Iredell County Board of Commissioners, the Statesville City Council and the United Way of Iredell County have all supported the effort financially.
County commissioners reallocated $25,000 earmarked for Partners Health Management, the City Council signed off on a plan to spend up to $25,000 to pay for case management services for Brookwood residents, and the United Way designated 15,000 for the effort. The Collier family, which owns the property, has also chipped in.
Tamara Roach, the executive director of Fifth Street Ministries, said she has been impressed with the scope of the response.
“This important work could not be done without the support of the city, county, the United Way and the Collier family,” she said.
Pam Navey, a former Fifth Street Ministries Board member and part-time Statesville Police Department employee, has been leading the effort for the nonprofit. She has been meeting regularly with Brookwood residents and helping them find alternative housing options.
Using the funds allocated to Fifth Street, she’s able to help with rent and utility deposits and the first month’s rent for some Brookwood residents. Most of the Brookwood residents work and have been paying upwards of $1,400 per month to stay at the hotel.
The residents have been very appreciative of the assistance, Navey said.
“There are some very strong-willed, proud yet humbled people who apologize for where their life is today,” she said.
Navey is also working to connect the residents with resources for household budgeting, parenting support, job training and mental health services. She’s also bought groceries for residents, secured a bed in an assisted-living facility for a woman who was malnourished, and made sure residents who need help with substance-misuse issues connect with service providers.
“We have a lot of partners that are willing to take on other parts of this effort when asked,” Navey said. “We’ve got a good team out there.”
In her conversations with the residents, Navey has stressed the opportunity that they have to change the trajectory of their lives.
“We hope the worst days of their life are in the past,” Navey said. “This community is rallying to give them a fresh start.”
The effort, she said, will not end on August 31.
“It’s a joy to do this work, to get to know these people, but it is also overwhelming – the obstacles for them to overcome.”