The Recruitment and Training Program (RTP), which has been in operation throughout the state since 1983, provides an array of services, but the focus in Columbus is narrower.
“We’re basically concentrating on home ownership,” RTP of Columbus director Virginia Burchfield said. “Our classes focus on helping people qualify for home loans and programs and, in some cases, helping them stay in the home they already own.”
Since mid-January, it’s hard not to notice the irony: RTP of Columbus is looking for a new home, too.
“I guess you could say we’re giving them a real-life example,” Burchfield said. “One of the things we tell people is that you have to be resilient. That’s been true for us, too. We’ve had to practice what we’ve preached.”
For more than five years, RTP has leased the old Union Academy facilities on 10th Avenue North from the Columbus Municipal School District. The defunct elementary school has been for sale for several years, and the school district leased it out while trying to find a buyer.
“It was perfect for us,” Burchfield said.
On the morning of Jan. 13, a Saturday, Burchfield stopped by Union to check on a few things.
“There was water running down the hallway,” she said. “We haven’t been able to use it since.”
A hard freeze ruptured water pipes, rendering the building unusable. Since then, Burchfield has been moving from location to location — churches and businesses, mainly — to continue RTP programs, which currently serve 60 to 70 people from around the Golden Triangle area.
“I honestly can’t tell you how many people who have been able to buy a home after taking our classes,” Burchfield said. “It’s way more than 10, maybe a lot more. In fact the only thing I hate is that they get what they need from us, then we don’t hear from them again. What we provide in the classes is information, but they can’t buy a home without that. I’ve had people from as far away as Attala County come for classes.”
During the CMSD’s regular board meeting on April 9, trustees unanimously voted to allow RTP to end its lease, which was supposed to run through the end of June.
“There’s no running water,” CMSD Board President Jason Spears said. “As part of the lease, it was RTP’s responsibility to maintain the property and make repairs. Their insurance would not cover the cost of repairs, so there really weren’t many options.”
Spears said the cost of repairing the facility, which would involve breaking through the concrete foundation to access the pipes, would run $20,000, maybe more.
“The board just didn’t feel we could justify the expense,” said Spears, who said RTP’s monthly rent was $1,800. “Right now, we have occupied (school) buildings that need repairs. That has to be our priority.”
Burchfield said being allowed to break the lease allows RTP to begin looking for a permanent home.
“We’re very happy the board allowed us out of the leases,” Burchfield said. “We had been at Union for over five years.
“People knew where we were and in was in a part of the community where there are the kinds of needs we are here to help with,” she added. “So now we’ll have to find a place that will accommodate what we do.”
On Monday, the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors approved a recommendation to move its polling precinct from Union Academy to the 15th Street Church of God in Christ, located a street over from the old school.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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