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A time for action: Lunch & Learn to address plan, next steps for SAW housing solutions

front door with keychain of house
(© Shisu_ka – stock.adobe.com)

Community conversations around housing insecurity have led a steering committee to make recommendations for solutions for the Staunton, Augusta County and Waynesboro (SAW) region.

A discussion on the first phase of an action plan toward creating housing solutions for all will take place on Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. at The Russell Museum in downtown Waynesboro.

The Lunch & Learn series has been offered as a follow-up to the SAW Housing Summit in October, led by Augusta Health, Valley Community Services Board, the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission and the Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge.

The summit brought together city and county staff, elected leaders, public agencies, business leaders and nonprofit organizations over two days.

A second housing summit was held June 27 at the Blackburn Inn in Staunton, and it served as an introduction to the framework of an action plan for the SAW region.

The Lunch & Learn offered Thursday will give the community an opportunity to discuss the plan and the next steps in its implementation.

“A great deal of work has taken place since the SAW Housing Summit last October,” said Dan Layman, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge. “Many of the summit participants joined us on June 27 to learn about our proposed next steps and how they can play meaningful roles in our collective work to create solutions that house everyone.”

Anyone who wants to learn more about participating in the initial action steps should attend. Participants are encouraged to bring a brown-bag lunch.

“This week’s Lunch & Learn will provide an opportunity to learn about the next steps and begin to engage in this work with our community partners and neighbors,” said Anna Leavitt, the director of the Community Action Partnership Staunton Augusta Waynesboro, known as CAPSAW.

The Russell Museum is located at 518 W. Main St. in Waynesboro.

For more information, visit https://sawhousing.com

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Crystal Graham

Crystal Graham

Crystal Abbe Graham is the regional editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, she has worked for 25 years as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of "Viewpoints," a weekly TV news show, and co-host of Virginia Tonight, a nightly TV news show on PBS. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television.