Since the pandemic, affordable housing-education nonprofit
has raised $16.5 million for rental
assistance; continues work in partnership with City
ATLANTA, July 10,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In a significant move to address
housing instability, the Atlanta City Council has approved a
$2 million donation to Star-C
Corporation's eviction relief program. This funding will assist
low-income residents, offering up to $7,000 in relief for households earning up to 60%
of the median income (~$62,000/family
of four) or $43,000 for an
individual.
Star-C has a proven track record in eviction relief, an area
into which it pivoted during the pandemic. Since that time, the
10-year-old nonprofit has raised $16.5
million for rental assistance, starting with a $50,000 GoFundMe campaign. Its Eviction Relief
Fund has helped over 5,000 families in 300 Metro apartment
communities. The recent $2 million
follows a $2 million initial donation
from the City of Atlanta late last
year.
"When you are already challenged financially, you are only one
bad day or one serious health emergency from not being able to pay
your rent or mortgage," says Atlanta Mayor Andre
Dickens. "Thanks to City Council's support for these
efforts, we are now able to help even more families avoid
worst-case scenarios and keep the stability that housing provides
for both them and our community."
The City's initial donation helped prevent displacement for more
than 220 households; since that time the city says over 500 more
households have applied for assistance. All told, Metro Atlanta
faced over 144,000 eviction filings in 2023. The funding, part of
the city's $100 million housing bond
established last year, helps minimize eviction filings,
particularly for residents experiencing temporary income loss.
Eligible households must face defined hardships such as income
reduction, medical expenses, or transportation emergencies in
addition to meeting income limitations.
"While Star-C pivoted into eviction relief out of what we
thought was short-term necessity during the pandemic, the need
remains great and we appreciate the City and City Council's
recognition of this need and of our efforts," says Audrea Rease, Star-C Executive Director.
"Building on a foundation of affordable housing for working
families, we offer onsite afterschool programs and summer camps;
food security; access to affordable healthcare; and, of course, now
eviction relief."
Rease notes that, this year, Star-C is celebrating its 10th
anniversary, which it is marking with a Sept. 25 event. It also is in the midst of a
two-year capacity building campaign, launched by a $1 million grant from a major health care company
last year. She says this funding has been pivotal in scaling its
programs to include more properties and provide even more resources
to the communities served.
Star-C – an Atlanta-based
non-profit with the mission to reduce transiency in local schools –
partners with responsible landlords to provide wraparound services
for children and families in underserved apartment communities.
Through initiatives like Star-C Select, the 10-year-old
organization provides periodic programming at an additional 47
communities that do not have onsite afterschool programs.
Media inquiries
Drew
Plant (former Star-C Board Member)
678-637-5532
380210@email4pr.com
Additional information
During "Star-C Week
(July 22-26)," the nonprofit will
take 150+ summer campers on life-changing field trips to expand
their worlds beyond their immediate environment. The Star-C monthly
breakfast on that Thursday will be in person and will feature a
"speed mentoring" activity where community leaders share advice
with summer campers. Over the course of the week, Star-C will host
16 back-to-school supply giveaways to distribute 800 backpacks at
affordable/workforce housing communities across the area.
Tenants, non-profit leaders, municipal officials, potential
donors and volunteers, and anyone else interested in affordable
housing and the Star-C "eduhousing" model may want to attend one of
the organization's monthly breakfasts.
Star-C was founded by "compassionate capitalist" landlord
Marjy Stagmeier, who chronicled the
success of this eduhousing model in her book, Blighted: A Story
of People, Politics, and an American Housing
Miracle (University of Georgia
Press). It presents one of Star-C's Atlanta communities as an open-source model to
inspire others concerned with the challenges of affordable
housing.
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SOURCE Star-C