ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – After months of work, founder of The Least of These Ministry, Dawn Sandoval cut the ribbon on her new housing model “Suites by TLOT” for people experiencing homelessness.
“Finally, after a lot of blood, sweat and tears,” Sandoval said. “It just means that there’s going to be some people that might not have a roof over their head tonight that might have one tomorrow.”
The rooms will be available to people who are on a fixed income or have jobs that just don’t pay them enough to afford housing on their own. Tenants will pay based on their income, and private donations will cover the rest.
“The definition of a motel is that you can rent daily, weekly or monthly,” Sandoval said. “There’s not a specific time frame, however, this is not a permanent housing model.”
Roanoke leaders came to support the initiative, including Vice Mayor Joe Cobb.
“We recognize that homelessness is not unique to the City of Roanoke,” Cobb said. “It’s real in our region, and to see all of these partners coming together to work together to support initiatives like this is really important.”
Not everyone is happy about the new development. Some neighbors question who will and won’t be allowed to stay.
“I can’t be specific about the vetting process,” Sandoval said. “I can just say that there is a vetting process. We are here to be a good community partner, therefore we are not interested in bringing problems to this neighborhood.”
The first guests move in on Friday, and there are still open rooms available.
“I have my work cut out for me for sure,” Sandoval said. “But, it’s the culmination of everything we do in this ministry to bring someone from homelessness to having a roof over their head.”