Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 29, 1994 TAG: 9407290082
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
He had a bachelor of science degree in engineering from Virginia Tech. He had five years of military service, including a tour of duty in Operation Desert Storm. He had held a $30,000-a-year job.
And he was homeless because of a job layoff.
He had found temporary quarters at Total Action Against Poverty's Transitional Living Center in Roanoke, which provides food, shelter and services to prepare homeless people for independent living.
But McDonough, 31, was ready to move on. Yet the change had to be gradual. He needed a place to live while regaining self-sufficiency and self-esteem.
There was no such place.
Historically, people like McDonough have been housed in residential hotels, rooming houses, boarding homes - modestly priced accommodations once universally available.
But that type of housing has been destroyed over the years. In Roanoke, it was stricken from the city zoning ordinance in 1987.
Recognizing a need, a partnership of Roanoke agencies embarked on a project five years ago to rehabilitate old houses in Roanoke into single-room occupancy units for homeless single people.
The first of Roanoke AT-HOME Single-Room Occupancy Project's five scattered-site multifamily buildings to be completed was dedicated Thursday.
``A lot of times the system is geared to helping families, as it should be,'' McDonough said. ``But addressing the problem of the single homeless person is finally coming out with this project.
``Becoming self-sufficient again is a step-by-step process. You almost have to learn to crawl before you can walk again. The SRO provides that opportunity to learn to walk again.''
The five rehabilitated buildings - one in Northwest Roanoke and four in Southwest - will be occupied by people from several sources, including the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority's Section 8 waiting list, the Transitional Living Center and the Salem Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Rehabilitation construction at four of the buildings - including the 12th Street Northwest home where Thursday's dedication ceremony was held - is scheduled to be completed by the end of the month. The fifth building will be completed in August.
Each building will house six or more residents who will share in the cooking, cleaning and basic functions of a typical household. Each resident will have a private room.
All of the buildings will be managed by TAP's Human Resources Department. A resident manager will be hired to oversee rent collection, building maintenance and coordination of tenant activities.
``This is not a program. This is actual living,'' said Alvin Nash, executive director of the Blue Ridge Housing Development Corp., which oversaw project development with TAP. ``Not all people who are homeless are on the street. They are in overcrowded living conditions or institutions. This project meets a critical need for the homeless.''
The project - the result of combined efforts of more than 15 local, state, federal and private entities - took five years of system manipulating and bureaucracy blasting to complete. It is the second scattered-site single-room occupancy project in the country.
Funding for the $1.3 million project came in part from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, a TAP energy loan and the city of Roanoke.
A construction loan was secured through the Nations Housing Fund, created by NationsBank and the Enterprise Social Investment Corp., a subsidiary of nationally known developer James Rouse's Enterprise Foundation.
``What you see here is not just a house. You see an idea and you see a process,'' Cabell Brand, TAP chairman, said at the dedication.
``What we've learned is that there is a tremendous need for houses like this. And what we've learned is that there's a way to do it.''
McDonough - one of an estimated 200 homeless people in the Roanoke Valley - now has a job at a Roanoke retail store. He will be one of the first to move into an SRO building.
``This helps people who have been in a homeless situation find out they can get back out on their own,'' he said.
``It helps people get back the self-esteem that tends to get lost.''
by CNB