Albany. GA (Feb. 11, 2024) City Government, non-profits, and everyday people are coming together to make a difference in lives in those of the unhoused/homeless community of Albany, GA.
Each day, most citizens in Albany, GA live their lives without worrying about food, clothing, and shelter. However, there is a community of unique citizens in Albany, GA, that do have to worry about the needs that many take for granted.
The opinion of some citizens feels the unhoused/homeless community is often not thought of enough daily, one such person is citizen Will Davis known by many as Mr. Albany. When looking at the life of Will Davis and the things he’s involved in the question is why and how? Why does he care and how does he find the time?
Will Davis is the GA 2nd Congressional District. Will Davis, Chair is the founder and chairman of Level Up Young Man a non-profit focusing on mentoring young men. Not only that he’s a father and a very active grandfather in his grandson’s life.
The reason Will Davis cares like he does is because he himself had a very humble life. Will says he knows what it is like not to have the and grow up with many consider normal “Listen I grew up small impoverished rural farming town in Terrell County, GA, I had to leave because it wasn’t a future there for me. Will explained that after returning home from serving 5 years for the United States Marine Corps he was unable to get a job at the Dawson Police Dept.
“He I go applying for a job at the Dawson Police Department with experience as military security in the United States Marine Corps only to be told I was overqualified and not hired.” That was Will’s cue he had to do something different.
It’s that experience that inspired him to make a difference by being the difference. So fast forward to November 2023, Will Davis, was just going about his day when he saw a flyer that the city of Albany was opening a temporary warming center for the unhoused/homeless community due to cold weather that was going to impact the area. On night one when heading home something led Will to stop by the warming center. When he got there, he noticed that it wasn’t many people inside. To Will, something wasn’t right about this picture. Will decided to ask some questions about why people weren’t there. What he learned is many didn’t get the memo. So, the next day Will got with some of his friends to get the word out, they went inside the unhoused/homeless population and told them about the center. Will also worked with others to provide meals and warm clothing for those who didn’t want to stay in the warming center.
Many citizens are what is next for Georgia when it comes to addressing the unhoused/homeless issue. House Bill 713 was introduced Mar. 3, 2021, and killed on Apr. 4, 2022. The now dead bill was to address issues relating to mental health, general provisions relative to the Department of Community Affairs, and public property, respectively, so as to provide for multifaceted reform initiatives and supports relating to mental health and homelessness; to revise the criteria for inpatient care; to revise the duration in an emergency receiving facility; to provide for targeted state funding for projects such as safe parking areas, structured camping facilities, and individual unit shelters; to provide for allocation of state funding under certain conditions; to provide for grant-allocation contracts and state grants; to provide for the designation of structured camping facilities on state property; to provide for a prohibition on use of undesignated state property for camping; to provide for definitions; to provide for applicability; to provide for violations and penalty; to provide for related matters; to provide for a short title; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
Mayor of Albany, Bo Dorough, addressed the unhoused/homeless situation during an interview with WXFL Fox 31. The mayor was very direct when he addressed the issue.
Will Davis is passionate about making a difference in the City of Albany, his final statement was this.
“The unhoused/homelessness issues aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, and the likeminded citizens of Albany as myself are in it for the long haul.”
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