A Lexington County shelter has shifted the way it helps local veterans after its partnership with the county’s Department of Veteran Affairs came to an end after 17 years.

As of Sept. 30, Central Midlands Transitional Retreat, located at 201 Duffie Dr. in Lexington, is no longer a recipient of funds through the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Grant and Per Diem program. The federal initiative is aimed at addressing the housing needs of homeless veterans.

According to a press release, the decision impacted 65 veterans that were residing at the center, operated by Christ Central. The Christ Central website states that the program enabled by the federal funding there included transitional housing, education, training, financial counseling, and employment consulting, along with physical, spiritual, emotional and mental stabilization for veterans.

“We feel like they made the wise decision to move the veterans,” Christ Central Founder and CEO Pastor Jimmy Jones said. “We were no longer were able to take care of the many needs because an aging population really needs everything from convalescent care to medical care.”

“It really was OK with us if we were not the selected grantee,” he added.

Per the release from the Columbia VA Health Care System, it was informed the grant wouldn’t be renewed in May, and prepared for several months, working with Christ Central to secure permanent solutions for the veterans that needed to be moved by Sept. 30. The average length of stay for the veterans in the Grant and Per Diem program’s transitional housing beds is six months, the release states.

"We reviewed each veteran’s housing plan with them and discussed the program's closing,” Sherry Martel, the Columbia VA system’s homeless program coordinator, is quoted. “Each Veteran was assured that we would do everything in our power to make sure that they either were discharged to independent housing or that they would be transferred to another one of our transitional housing beds." 

Per the release, the system secured funds from the National Program Office to “create 28 Emergency Contract Beds at Transitions, a local organization that already hosts 12 GPD beds. These additional beds opened on July 5, 2023, and quickly filled up.”

Transitions is located in downtown Columbia.

Jones told the Chronicle that losing the program will not affect the mission of Christ Central, adding that they currently have 20 veterans still housed on the Lexington campus, some of these choosing not to follow the grant program.

When they were not selected to renew the grant, Jones said that there was no significant loss in funding, as the grant provided a certain amount of money per veteran, and while there is no longer that stream of income there is also no longer that stream of outflow.

“Getting put out of business is a good thing when you're dealing in homelessness,” he said, jokingly.

“We weren’t looking for the grant,” he added, saying they were initially reached out to by the VA due to the services they were already providing veterans through their Homeward Bound program. 

Vanette James, director of the Central Midlands Transitional Retreat, emphasized what the program was able to provide.

“Everyone that has come through the program has been blessed,” she said. “This is a homeless population. We’ve provided shelter, food, everything that Matthew 25 talked about. We've done everything that God has asked of us and ordained for us to do.”

“We’re just blessed to be a blessing to those who are lost,” she added.

Hones told the Chronicle that the VA asked Christ Central if they would help locate facilities and found the one in Lexington, which used to house the Babcock Center. He added that the building had been abandoned for five to six years before they bought it.

The pastor stated that they leased the building to the VA, as they needed the space while awaiting their grant application, adding that they spent about a million dollars remodeling the building to make sure everything was up to the necessary standards.

Following the remodel, the 10-acre campus now houses six cottages with eight beds each, an administration building, maintenance building, food services building and a pavilion for simple recreation.

According to Jones, Christ Central is a research organization in terms that they only respond to the needs of the community, He told the Chronicle that the organization has been meeting with the community to find out what homeless services are needed.

“That’s who we are, responding to need,” Jones said.

Christ Central is headquartered in Columbia, with 19 locations across the state, including two others located in Lexington County – the Chris Myers’ Children’s Place and Family Campus and Samaritan's Well, both offering transitional housing for homeless women and children.

“Lexington is one of the most blessed counties in the state, we work in a lot of them, but the reason is, it's a family County,” Jones said, “and they literally respond to trying to help people in need and so that's one of the big things “

According to the Lexington center’s website they provide assistance in obtaining birth certificates, certificates of release or discharge, obtaining photo IDs and driver's licenses, resume writing, job applications, referrals for GED training, computer training, training in food handling and preparation, individual therapy, group therapy, various case management support and travel to and from job interviews and workplaces.

The pastor said the organization's goal is to serve the community.

“Every veteran has represented our country and represented them, meaning theirselves and their families,” Jones said. “And so on the day when they can't help themselves, you look for ways to help them get through that day or pass that obstacle.”