ALBANY – The Albany Salvation Army shelter had its first birth recently, weeks after opening up three rooms that can be used to house families temporarily in need of a place to stay.
Baby Rwby (pronounced Ruby) was born on July 29 at nearby Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, and the struggling family is trying to get back on its feet and find a permanent home.
Parents Britney and Justin Miller moved to Albany, Georgia from central Florida to stay with relatives but had a falling out over financial issues, Britney Miller said. The new mother, 29, and Justin, 32, have been staying at the 304 W. Second Ave. shelter since mid-June.
“We ended up losing the place we were staying,” she said. “This was the first place that would (have us).”
The timing was fortunate for the Millers because the Salvation Army made the changes to the facility to provide up to three rooms for families earlier in July, before Rwby was born.
“They would not have been able to stay together, but with our new set-up they have been able to,” said Salvation Army Capt. Chris Thomas, who operates the facility that includes conducting church services at the SA chapel and managing the office that serves nine southwest Georgia counties, with wife Tasha Thomas.
For the first baby born during a stay at the facility, the Salvation Army has been allowing the family to come into the living quarters at 5 p.m. instead of the usual 7:30 p.m. check-in time for other individuals staying at the shelter.
“We’ve gone above and beyond for them,” Thomas said. “We’re allowing them to come in early and shower. We’re allowing them to eat separately from our larger crowd in our smaller dining room.”
The shelter can house up to 52 men and women, about half men and half women. It has been at capacity for women for several months, he said.
The three rooms set up for families have bunk beds, so in the event they are not occupied by a family they can be used to house up to six or more individuals.
“We use it for overflow for our women’s dorm,” he said. “Whoever presents first is how we use the room. The change we have made to have (the family rooms) has proved a big change for the community.
“We had another pregnant woman who was here. She moved on. I think she found housing. She wanted to find a situation for her kids when she gave birth.”
Credit: Alan Mauldin
Credit: Alan Mauldin
Britney has taken maternal leave but said she plans to return to her job waitressing at Waffle House when she is able to do so. She is also working on getting a second job. Justin said he has been unable to find work because his job applications are rejected once he has to explain a theft conviction in his past.
“For the foreseeable future, we plan to stay in Albany,” Britney said. “Going forward, once I can go back to work we will continue to save toward finding a place. It’s just a matter of getting back to work and getting the money for application fees.
“This is a really good place. They were the first and only ones to put us in, especially without splitting us up. They made a lot of accommodations. They’ve been a lot of help to us.”
To donate to the Millers, visit their GoFundMe page.
Credit: Albany Herald
Credit: Albany Herald
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