‘Priced Out' of housing in Savannah, community partnership highlights residents' struggle

Yahoo

17-05-2025

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – A local organization debuted an exhibit Friday to shed light on what they are calling a housing affordability crisis in Savannah.
The exhibit, called 'Priced Out.' is a partnership between Housing Savannah and SCAD Serves, a community engagement program run by Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).
The project highlighted the experiences of local people facing housing insecurity in Savannah.
'I applied for disability. We were evicted from our apartment because Shaun's salary didn't cover it,' Shaun and K-lee, who were featured in the exhibit, said. 'We heard about a job in Savannah, but when we got here that job kind of fell through. So, we've been living in a motel.'
Those featured in the exhibit said they are not able to secure safe, comfortable housing in Savannah for a variety of reasons.
For some, it's an unexpected illness that drops their household down to one income.
'Our food stamps were just cut off', Shaun and K-Lee said. 'Working at the Waffle House as a server, I only make three dollars an hour…So, now, I had to take on a couple extra shifts, cooking and serving now, to try and balance out our budget a little bit.'
For others, generational struggles make it hard for them to afford stable housing.
'I went to college twice,' Ashley, who was also featured in Priced Out exhibit, said. 'I still can't get my foot in the door. I still can't get a leg up. Anytime, I go somewhere, I think Savannah might not be it, but this is my home. Why don't I have the right to live here?'
However, according to Executive Director of Housing Savannah Laura Lane McKinnon, the struggle for affordable housing is not unique to just the participants in the exhibit.
'Far too often we think of that as an individual issue, something that perhaps we've done something wrong, we're struggling. But it really is a systemic issue,' she said.
SCAD Serves and Housing Savannah put together a documentary to highlight the everyday realities of the participants' lives. In the exhibit, their testimonies were woven together like a quilt.
'The rent for low-and mid-income people is based on the average income for the entire town,' Paula, a participant featured in the documentary said. 'That doesn't make sense to me. It doesn't compute.'
Only a snippet of the documentary was shown at Friday's exhibit, but the whole piece will be unveiled to the public soon.
You can view the 'Priced Out' exhibit from 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. on Saturday.
K-lee and Shaun shared their GoFundMe with WSAV. If you would like to donate you can click or tap here.
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