Augusta, GA
$8M loan provides lifeline for some Ga. Head Start programs during shutdown
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – With funding for Head Start programs expected to run out after Friday, the YMCA has secured emergency funding to keep Head Start programs open past Friday.
The programs currently serve nearly 700 children in the Augusta area.
Ut’s an important program for many Georgia families.
Take Heather Morris, who lives in Madison County.
She’s a Head Start teacher, her husband serves in the Army and he’s not getting paid during the shutdown. Two of their children are enrolled in Head Start, receiving speech therapy that’s changed their lives. Now she could lose her paycheck and the care her family depends on.
“Well, yesterday I cried all day,” Morris said.
“You’re looking around your home like, what can we sell or what can we give up? I mean, do you let your children starve? No. Do you pull your children out of school to let them stay with the younger ones? That’s not an option either,” Morris said.
To keep programs like Morris’s open, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta stepped in with an $8 million bridge loan, buying 45 more days of operations for the YMCA, Sheltering Arms, and Easterseals North Georgia.
“Typically philanthropy does not step up to fill the role of the federal government. But these are really uncertain times,” said Frank Fernandez of the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta.
That loan covers about 5,800 children in North Georgia, but families of nearly 700 children in south Georgia are already being told they won’t have a place to go after Friday.
Impact on working families
About 80% of Head Start parents work at least one job, often low-wage and hourly. Without child care, leaders fear some families may have to pull older kids out of school to look after their younger siblings.
“We need the adult leaders in this country to come to the table and not make the children of our communities suffer,” said Lauren Koontz of the YMCA of Metro Atlanta.
The bridge loan keeps some programs open but only through mid-December. Families and providers say they need more than a temporary fix and need Washington to act.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – The VA Augusta Healthcare System cut the ribbon on its new emergency ambulance service on Thursday.
The in-house medical transportation program is designed to ensure specialized care for veterans with complex medical needs.
“So we have two new ambulances that we have put into service officially,” said James Doelling, the interim executive director of VA Augusta Healthcare System. “This is for us to be able to, through patient safety and get veterans where they need to be, when they need to be, to make sure we’re given the best care anywhere in our nation’s heroes. We’re really excited. As you are aware, we are the only four star facility in the Augusta area, and this is only going to make us even better and deliver exceptional care to our heroes.”
The VA said it hopes the service will reduce delays and better support veterans.
Photojournalist credit: Dania Alawir
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A driver is in custody after leading Richmond County deputies on a chase that ended in a rollover crash Thursday evening.
Richmond County Sheriff’s Office deputies say they attempted to stop a black BMW sedan with no registration plate on Tubman Home Road at Gordon Highway around 6:30 p.m.
The driver, Willie Junior Brown, 33, failed to stop and led deputies on a pursuit, according law enforcement.
Deputies say Brown lost control of the vehicle on the 2500 block of Blueberry Drive, striking an unoccupied 1999 Chevrolet Silverado.
Brown’s vehicle rolled over and he then attempted to flee on foot before being taken into custody.
Deputies say Brown was transported to a hospital for treatment.
Several criminal charges are forthcoming and the investigation is ongoing.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
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