AIKEN, S.C. (WJBF) – Homelessness in the CSRA has been a big problem throughout the years.  The federal government’s recent change to how it helps those without a place to live could impact homeless shelters across the country and here in the CSRA.HUD decided to cut funding for shelters in order to focus more on long term housing. 

As HUD cuts funding for shelters, this could mean changes to programs for some just to afford to pay a light bill.  Others will simply shut down.  Nurture Home in Aiken is one of those shelters cut by thousands of dollars and impacting lives headed down a better road.

As Mental Health American of Aiken County Executive Director sat in the living room of Nurture Home, she reflected on the first time she met Sherri Moss.

“I remember when I first met you do you remember?”

“Yes,” Moss replied.

Inside the Nurture Home in Aiken a lot of care and attention is given to five women and their children.  All have a troubled past.  All need a home.

“Truth be told right now I would be drunk and just sitting on the side of the curb playing and not living life the way I am now,” Moss spoke candidly.

Moss is one of the women at the transitional home working to become stable so she can move out on her own.

“Back in November I almost died from having pneumonia.  I was in ICU pregnant with her from being homeless because I didn’t want to go back to my abusive baby father,” she expressed.

Since March, the 32-year-old and her newborn daughter, Shyla, have let the women at Nurture Home set a structured lifestyle for them so life can be better.  This is a process Julia Prisco said is vital.

“The residents are able to save 30 percent of their income while they’re here at Nurture Home.  If they did not have the ability to do this then I believe they would be homeless even longer,” the Supportive Services Director told News Channel 6.

Prisco added that the eliminated stress of paying rent coupled with a financial literacy program is just one of the ways the resourceful program pulls homeless women like Moss out of trouble.

But Tindal, who works for the group that runs Nurture Home, said HUD has cut its funding to the home by $46,000.

“The value of Nurture Home is our long term model, up to 2 years.  But typically women are able to make changes in less than a year.

Tindal released the following statement about the cuts:It is troubling to know that although a transitional program has had demonstrated success both through APR and through the examples of lives transformed through our program, that it is not the model that is prioritized.  Also, a program that has established itself in the community as well as the State as an effective and proven facilitator of stability for families, is faced with the tough choice of continuing independent of HUD support.

Tindal said the home helped transition more than 100 women and about 120 children in seven years.  They get their own room, a place to store and cook groceries and a ton of academic, work and supportive services inside the home.

“Women can be in an emergency shelter and their time runs out because of the restrictions there and then still have nowhere to go.  So, they’re left to depend on staying in someone else’s home or even more tragically going back to an abusive partner,” she said.

Tindal told us she’s talking with the board of directors for Nurture Home about what changes to make.  But she said she has hope it will be ok because the home has a lot of local support.

To learn more about Nurture House and support it visit the website here.