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SAVANNAH, Ga. () — 70 people were displaced after a fire at the Red Roof Inn on Abercorn Street Tuesday afternoon. Close to 20 people are being helped by the American Red Cross and other local organizations, because they relied on the motel for permanent, affordable housing.
Chatham-Savannah Authority for the Homeless is one of those organizations, according to Executive Director Jennifer Dulong. This hotel was a home for many.
“The fire actually represented, for many, a typical house fire,” Dulong said. “They lost all of their belongings. They had to leave very quickly. We had several heads of household that had pets, about a dozen pets or so.”
Also, several children were living there.
Dulong says their living situation shows the severity of the housing crisis in America.
“Housing and access to housing inventory has really reached a pressure point, in our community in particular. We are the ninth most expensive community to live in, if you look at the fair market rental rates, they are in the amount of income average households have coming in. It’s very difficult to get housing and housing opportunities here in our community. It’s not just simply the affordable housing conversation, because affordable means different things for different people,” she said.
Many residents got little rest Tuesday night at the shelter set up at the Tompkins Community Center, and they didn’t even take a day off from work.
“People just went to work today, like today was another day. And yet they’re going through the trauma of losing their homes,” Dulong said.
She hopes that by the end of Thursday, everyone will be settled into another long-term hotel rental situation or a home. did speak with one of the owners of The Red Roof Inn. He says that this is devastating, and he is hopeful they can rebuild and reopen the motel.
