VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — The lack of affordable housing options is an issue hitting several communities throughout the country, and Volusia County is no exception.

What You Need To Know

  • Volusia County nonprofit F.A.I.T.H advocates for local governments to create affordable housing trust funds to incentivize the construction and rehabilitation of homes in which people can afford to live

  • The group met on March 18 at Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church in Port Orange, where F.A.I.T.H. co-chair Jackie Mole welcomed close to 1,400 residents from different congregations 
  • One of the residents who shared her testimony at the meeting was Frances Owings, who was homeless and had to live out of her car for six months. 

  • Owings says she hopes by sharing her story, local leaders take action to fix the affordable housing issue, so more people get to experience the feeling of having a roof over their heads

The nonprofit organization Fighting Against Injustice Towards Harmony, also known as F.A.I.T.H., has made it the organization's mission to call on city and county leaders to address this issue. The organization brings together several congregations to advocate for action on local issues, such as affordable housing.

The group met March 18 at Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church in Port Orange, where F.A.I.T.H. co-chair Jackie Mole welcomed close to 1,400 residents.

“We are trying to get the county to agree to a flood program that will assist with the flooding and the city of Daytona to set up an affordable housing trust fund for affordable housing,” Mole said.

F.A.I.T.H advocates for local governments to create trust funds to incentivize the construction and rehabilitation of places people can afford.

“It’s so important that people that don't have the necessary resources or are homeless and living on the street and, in some cases, just can't afford the high rents that's being charged every month (…) They need some assistance, and we're here to fight for that,” Mole said.

One resident who shared her testimony at the meeting was Frances Owings. Originally from New Jersey, Owings said she moved to Florida with hope for a bright future.

“It was wonderful. I had sold my house up in New Jersey, and I came down and I bought a condo brand new. Nobody ever lived in it,” Owings said.

But when she had to start raising her grandsons, she quickly learned she couldn’t afford the rent. Living only on her Social Security income, she had to make a tough decision.

“We had no place else to go," Owings said. "We couldn't afford to go anyplace else."

She ended up living out of her car for six months.

“You get up in the morning and you think to yourself, where am I? Because, you know, you move, you don't stay," Owings said. "I mean, I was in Walmart parking lot. I was over in Port Orange between Wawas because Wawas have 24-hour bathrooms. So, you have to consider your needs at the same time. It's part of your survival.”

As she walked toward her car, the memories started coming back.

“This is it. My home away from home,” Owings said as she showed off the car in which she lived temporarily. 

“I'm so happy to have had this. It's wonderful. The car’s awesome, has a great trunk," she said. "I've had people ask me if I wanted to sell it, and I thought, oh, no. Especially when I was homeless. No, this was my home.”

Owings said it wasn’t until she received some inheritance money that she was able to buy the home where she now lives in Port Orange.

“To pull up and be able to pull in the driveway and know that it's mine — mine and the mortgage company's," she said. "But at least I know I have a roof over my head. It's great. It's great. It's a wonderful feeling.”

A wonderful feeling she said she hopes more people get to experience because finding a place to live should not feel like a struggle.