Housing
Over 30,000 households in Greenville County are one paycheck away from homelessness because they pay over a third of their income on housing. As Greenville has grown and become one of the most desirable places to live in the country, the cost of housing has grown even faster. Housing prices continue to rise because there is a housing shortage in our community.
This crisis affects everyone, but those on the margins are hit the hardest. There is a shortage of over 11,000 homes for low-income families, and Greenville now has the 9th highest eviction rate in the country. Housing is a fundamental right and building block for a success life–when it is out of reach for so many the whole community suffers.
To address this crisis, GOAL is calling on city and county leaders to take aggressive sustained action. Across the country, cities that have begun to address their housing crises have created dedicated annual funding streams towards the construction of new affordable housing. At our Nehemiah Action on March 28th, GOAL asked for commitments from both Greenville City and County officials to works towards:
— $10MM a year towards affordable housing
–One third of that funding to be designated for low-income households making 30% of the area median income or below
At the Action, Greenville’s Mayor and a majority of City council committed to our asks. GOAL also received commitments from 3 of the 12 Greenville County Councilors. Since then, Greenville County has now allocated $5MM towards affordable housing in their 2023-25 budget, marking the first time the County has ever spent local dollars on affordable housing! While these are promising steps in the right direction, our work will not be done both localities have put the resources needed to solve this problem.
Mental Health
Our community is in a mental health crisis. All across Greenville County, people of every age, income and background struggle to find access to consistent mental healthcare. With wait times for services often exceeding six months, many people only receive care once they are already in crisis.
While there is a long way to go until all have access to the mental healthcare they need, one vital lifeline is the newly launched 988 crisis line. This lifeline provides a crucial alternative to calling 911, and can connect people to vital resources in the community. However, the State of South Carolina is not adequately funding it.
The only 988 call center in the state is right here in Greenville, and is operated by Mental Health America of Greenville County. Right now, nearly 130 people a day contact 988 and only 50 get an in-state response because of the lack of adequate staffing. To fully staff the call center would require $3.9MM in the 2023-24 SC Budget, one tenth of one percent of the projected surplus. GOAL is calling on our state representatives to ensure that everyone who reaches a point of crisis has someone on the other end to answer.