- Nearly 1 in 3 Valdosta families live below the poverty line, with 800+ on the affordable housing waitlist.
- The median income for Black households in Valdosta is $34,000—just over half of white households.
- Watch the video to see how this group is helping Valdosta.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
In Valdosta, the rent's too high—and the fees just to apply are even higher. But a local coalition is pushing for real housing justice, not just talk.
Black to the Future Action Fund has been working in Valdosta since 2022, knocking on doors, listening to families, and now rallying around bold housing reforms.
From eliminating junk fees to putting affordable homes near jobs and grocery stores—they're focused on more than rent. They're focused on fairness.
Neighbor Omega Calhoun knows the financial strain all too well.
"Every rental company that you actually go and try to rent from, they're going to give you these fees that added it up," said Calhoun. "So if you look, if you go to 10 different rental companies around or about Austin on average, so 25."
Councilwoman Sandra Tooley, who represents Valdosta's District 2, says revitalization efforts must be equitable.
"Pulling the people on who've been in the city of the city areas that has been neglected for so long and there's a lot of the areas that the older part of the city, we've got to start, putting back into the older part of the city to build it up," said Tooley.
Russell Armstrong, senior policy strategist with Black to the Future, says wages are a barrier, too.
"For Valdosta as a whole, the amount of money that people make on average is still less than what would be required based on the average for Georgia overall to be able to afford rent or mortgage for median income family," said Armstrong.
Whether it's fees, zoning, or wages—Valdostans are calling for more than awareness. They want action.
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