CHARLOTTE — Four months after a west Charlotte motel shuttered its doors and forced people out is now transforming into a nonprofit with the same mission.
Southern Comfort Inn along Tuckaseegee Road plans to give families an affordable place to live.
Manager Traci Canterbury Jones said during the height of the pandemic, the motel provided affordable housing for dozens of families, which she said filled a critical need.
“I don’t want people to feel like their only choice is for them to be on the street or have to go to a homeless shelter,” Jones said.
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In June, Southern Comfort Inn closed its doors, unable to make ends meet and leaving 100 families to find somewhere else to go.
After a short hiatus, the motel is switching its name to Freedom Community Outreach. It’s a nonprofit using the same building, with a renewed focus on helping families.
Channel 9′s Anthony Kustura went by Friday, where renovations are well underway on the 120 units with new paint, spackle and flooring.
“I’m not really sure about the timeline,” Jones said. “You know, everybody deserves housing, our whole community.”
Jones said Freedom Community Outreach is also working with other groups, bringing in modular homes. Eventually, the homes will be outfitted and set on the adjacent motel property.
Jett Edwards is with Believers Today, a nonprofit that works with veterans, and is also part of the project. He said the homes will service a critical population.
“This is going to our number ones, and our number ones are our veterans. So next year, 2023, it will be going to a veteran,” Edwards said.
Hopefully, in years to come, many more veterans and others looking for a place to live will be able to call the area home.
On Thursday night, Freedom Community Outreach asked Mecklenburg County for money to support the mission. The nonprofit said $375,000 would move the process along and help it serve more people in need. Commissioners haven’t made a decision at this point.
(WATCH BELOW: ‘Life changing’: Catawba Co. provides families with homes through affordable housing initiative)
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