PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — WPTV is committed to highlighting solutions to South Florida's housing crunch.
Palm Beach County commissioners met with staff on Tuesday to navigate the game plan on budgets, contracts and projects to expand on affordable living options for those without shelter.
"This is not only a community but a national problem," said one resident at the meeting who identified herself as homeless after what she said was a mistaken claim of lien. "I'm an RN of 61 years and I worked 40 years of my life."
WATCH: How churches plan to turn land into affordable housing
She's one of over 1,500 people who were identified to be without a place to call home in Palm Beach County, but staff feels many were unaccounted for.
"We need to move forward with housing for folks who are living on the street," said commissioner Maria Sachs who has been advocating for mini cottages to help with housing options.
The county is now partnering with organizations, such as Faith in Action Palm Beach, for a project called Building Hope. It's a project aimed at collaborating with churches who have extra land that can converted into affordable housing options.
"Serving the community is what it's all about," said pastor Garfield Miller.
He's with West Palm Beach 7th Day Baptist Church that will be transformed into the 7th on Haverhill.
It's a five-story complex that will bring over 100 affordable studios, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom apartments.
"It is mind blowing, because the truth is that our church has 30 members," said Miller. "It's not a large congregation and to know that we are able to impact up to 90 families in this community, that is amazing,"
He said he leased over 3 acres of church land to the developer who plans to create a new a brand new place of worship on the first floor of the property.
"Your church with about 30 members, what did they have to say about this?" asked WPTV's Joel Lopez.
"They are all excited. Initially, they were primarily excited, because they were getting a new sanctuary," said Miller, "but when we understand the bigger picture, it is really mind-blowing and it is really a proud moment to be a part of such a program."
He said he's lost members over the years who could no longer afford to live in Palm Beach County. He's also seen people without a house taking shelter on the grass and under the trees on his church's property.
WPTV reached out to Faith in Action who said each project will be different but typically there are several sources of funding.
The county said the projects won't receive county money unless developers submit a proposal for gap funding through an available resource.
Faith in Action said they will be doing additional workshops in the near future that will go into greater detail on the 'how to" steps regarding financing the project, as well selecting the professional partners to assist the faith organization through the process.
West Palm Beach 7th Day Baptist Church is one of three churches already on board with the project. Organizers are hoping to recruit about 12 more churches into the housing program.