DOUGHERTY COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) - Dougherty County leaders are considering new program that’s had some success across Georgia in helping families get affordable housing.

The Supportive Housing Institute, is a program that provides training to development teams to help families break barriers that prevent them from owning a home. This is the second year of the program. Last year 688 new housing units were able to be built statewide according to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

26-percent of the population in Dougherty County is living in poverty, and 55-percent of all families rent their home. The county believes that this new program can help address the housing crisis, which they say was happening in Albany long before the national crisis.

“People need places to stay and if we can assist by supporting new homeowners in their quest to pass generational wealth through homeownership we can do everything we can to help them follow the pathway to that,” Dougherty County Commissioner Clinton Johnson said.

This isn’t just a county-led effort, Dougherty County is teaming up with the Georgia Department of Community and Economic Development.

Orson Burton, who is spearheading this effort, says the proposal they presented to the institute is innovative and unlike traditional housing vouchers or rental options.

The institute is highly competitive and only seven teams end up being selected. Officials say they should know if they’ve been accepted into the institute by August 29th.

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