SAVANNAH, Ga. () – The Tom D. Austin house is closing permanently, forcing nearly half a dozen families to find a new home.

“Most of us are left with nowhere to go,” said Jessica Martin, a former tenant.

The 12-room apartment building meant to affordably house once homeless families lost funding from the federal government.

Tenants were alerted in March the building, in existence since Jan. 2017, was closing.

In it’s final hours before closing Monday, Martin said eerie aura filled the building.

“There’s almost an air of silence. People are taking trips back and forth to each apartment and getting their things,” said Martin. “The kids are kind of looking around and wondering what’s going on. Some of them are too young to understand.”

Martin, the 33-year-old pregnant mother boarded a Greyhound bus to her hometown of Chattanooga, Tenn. to temporarily live with her family, leaving most of her belongings behind, including her toddler’s toys.

“It’s hard to come to terms with. We’re just doing the best we can, we’re just trying to survive,” she said.

She told the government has not helped her or other families find a home.

“I just want them to think about, while they lay their head on their pillow, what would it be like if they were faced with the same situation? If everything they held dear is being held from underneath them. How would they feel, how would they handle the sense of panic?”

Nonprofit group Family Promise of Chatham County has housed families in the Austin House in the past, and a spokesperson told they are helping four displaced families find new homes.

We have reached out to the Austin House for more information and are awaiting a response.