Hannah Jarrett

Hannah Jarrett named Director of countywide homelessness effort 

Adapted from information provided by the City of Spartanburg

A Place to Call Home, an effort spearheaded by multiple community partners to address homelessness and housing instability in Spartanburg County, will be led by Hannah Jarrett. As Director of A Place to Call Home, Jarrett will collaborate with diverse stakeholders, developing and executing effective strategies and leading efforts to prevent and reduce homelessness countywide.

Launched by a collaborative group that includes the City of Spartanburg, OneSpartanburg Inc., Spartanburg County, Spartanburg Housing, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, United Way of the Piedmont, and The Faith Initiative to End Child Poverty, A Place to Call Home focuses on a continuum of support to prevent homelessness, serve those experiencing homelessness, and expand access to affordable housing. 

The collaborative envisions a Spartanburg where homelessness is recognized as a solvable problem and where everyone has a safe, secure place to call home. The initiative centers on a comprehensive continuum of care to address homelessness, including prevention, serving those who are currently homeless, and emphasizing housing as the ultimate solution. A Place to Call Home is led by a Steering Committee representing a wide array of community partners—nonprofits, government agencies, faith-based organizations, healthcare, schools, and those with lived experience in the issue. As Director, Jarrett will assume leadership of ongoing homelessness efforts currently managed within the City of Spartanburg, building capacity to expand those efforts countywide. Jarrett will report to the A Place to Call Home leadership team, composed of representatives from the founding partners.

Jarrett's comes to A Place to Call Home after nearly 12 years with United Way of the Piedmont beginning as an AmeriCorps VISTA and going on to advance through leadership roles that included developing economic mobility strategies, managing over $4 million in grant funding, and creating community-wide initiatives aligned with measurable goals. In her most recent role as Vice President of Community and Collective Impact, Hannah led initiatives focused on Education, Economic Mobility, and Health. She oversaw a $1.5 million annual nonprofit investment portfolio, coordinated the placement of more than 40 AmeriCorps members, and managed programs aimed at addressing homelessness, behavioral health, and financial stability. “I am tremendously grateful to the A Place to Call Home leadership team for the opportunity to serve the Spartanburg community in this role and excited to begin this new phase of the critical work undertaken by so many community partners to address the issue of homelessness in our county," Jarret shared.

“I believe I speak for many in our community when I voice my excitement about the leadership, capacity, vision, and strategy that Hannah Jarrett brings to this role. We’re fortunate to have her seek this opportunity at this very critical moment in our community,” stated Mitch Kennedy, Deputy City Manager, City of Spartanburg.

Longstanding fundraiser raises over $1.1 million for S.C. School for the Deaf and the Blind 

Adapted from information provided by OneSpartanburg, Inc.

Over the past 15 years, the ‘So You Think You Can Cook’ Chili Cookoff, hosted by the SCSDB Foundation, has successfully raised over $1.1 million to benefit students at the school. On January 18, seven teams from Spartanburg businesses came together for the annual event to present their finest chili recipes in a heated cook-off competition. The event featured a festive birthday party theme in honor of the 175th anniversary of the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind (SCSDB).

This year’s teams included: A Business Law Firm, Miss Marion's School of Dance, SC School for the Deaf and the Blind, Smith Drug Company, Sodexo, TD Bank and Two 95 Food & Spirits. The following company teams were named winners of the 2025 chili cook-off, presented by Southern States Packaging Company:

Community Choice Award:

1st Place: Two 95 Food & Spirits

2nd Place: Smith Drug Company

Best Table Presentation:

1st Place: Smith Drug Company

2nd Place: SC School for the Deaf and the Blind

Judges Choice:

1st Place: Miss Marion’s School of Dance

2nd Place: Sodexo

Golden Chili Award Winners (raised $1,500+ dollars before noon on Saturday, January 18):

Two 95 Food & Spirits and Smith Drug Company

The SC School for the Deaf and the Blind thanked all of the event sponsors, including Schwartz & Co.; Compass Insurance; Dave and Martha Edwards; Smith Drug Company; The Arkwright Foundation; Stan and Paula Baker; Bill and Lynne Burton; Laura and John Gramling III; The Habisreutinger Family; William Montgomery; Pete Weisman; WSPA Channel 7 (Media Sponsor) and Bomar Printing (Invitation Sponsor).

Luck Companies investing $132 million in Enoree; $450 million total in South Carolina

Luck Companies, a provider of crushed stone aggregates and environmental performance products, recently announced it is growing its quarry operations across South Caro-lina. The company will develop new sites in Spartanburg, along with Chester, Edgefield, Saluda expand its existing sites in Fairfield and Kershaw counties. The combined investment of $450 million will create 70 new jobs.

The Spartanburg County site, located in Enoree, represents a $132 million investment over the next 20 years and approximately 25 new jobs. In addition to the quarry, this site will also feature opportunities for commercial development.

Founded in 1923 and headquartered in Virginia, Luck Companies provides materials and services through its three business units: Luck Stone, Luck Ecosystems and Luck Real Estate Ventures. The company serves as a partner for customers in the construction, civil engineering and environmental industries.

Other investments in South Carolina include:

• $93 million to develop a new site in Chester County, creating 25 new jobs. Along with the quarry component, the site will include acreage dedicated to agricultural education and a multi-use, economic development portion.

• $70 million to develop a 434-acre quarry site in Edgefield County, creating 10 new jobs.

• $40 million in Saluda County over the next 10 years and create 10 new jobs to develop the 330-acre quarry site.

• The Edgefield and Saluda sites will support increased development along the Interstate 20 corridor.

• The company’s Fairfield County site, located along Highway 34 near Ridgeway, provides construction aggregate materials for the growing Interstate 77 corridor and includes space for future economic development. Approximately $90 million will be invested in this site, over the next 20 years  to meet growing demand.

• The Kershaw County site, located west of Highway 601 in Kershaw, makes products that support the building of roads and site development as well as larger stones that support coast protection. The company will invest an additional $25 million to build a permanent plant at this location.

The plants in Fairfield and Kershaw counties currently have over 30 existing employees.

Individuals interested in joining the Luck Companies team should visit the company’s careers page. 

Prisma Health’s new Behavioral Health and Wellness Pavilion at the Greenville Memorial Hospital campus opened on Monday, January 27. Prisma Health photo 

Prisma Health triples outpatient behavioral health services in Upstate with new $3.7 million outpatient center

Adapted from information provided courtesy of Prisma Health

Greenville - Prisma Health has tripled patient access to outpatient behavioral health services in the Upstate with the opening of its new $3.7 million Behavioral Health & Wellness Pavilion.

The 24,000-square-foot facility opened on Monday, January 27 on the Greenville Memorial Hospital campus. It features therapy options through the former Brownell Center (now expanded and renamed the Grove Road Clinic) and ultimately also include five specialty day treatment programs, including a groundbreaking first-in-state mother-infant wellness program for women suffering from depression and anxiety disorders during pregnancy and postpartum.

Adult programs specializing in behavioral health and substance use disorders opened in January. Adolescent programs will include an eating-disorders program and a general behavioral health disorders program, both opening in May.

“We’re excited to bring increased outpatient access and innovative behavioral health therapies to our communities through our new Behavioral Health & Wellness Pavilion,” said Dr. Karen Lommel, the Robert A. Jolley Jr. Endowed Chair of Psychiatry and Commun-ity Health for Prisma Health in the Upstate.

Lommel said day treatment programs can be a good option for patients who don’t require hospital-level care but who would benefit from treatment that’s more intensive than regular office visits. These daytime programs are most often used for patients facing complex mental health challenges such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders and bipolar disorder.

“Not only are patients able to get the additional treatment they need, but they go home every night for support from family and friends,” said Lommel. “It’s a very supportive option that we’re thrilled to offer on an expanded basis in the Upstate.”

The outpatient expansion, along with the construction of a recently announced 112-licensed-bed behavioral health hospital, will provide the Upstate significantly enhanced care options across a broader continuum of needs. The projects are part of an almost $143 million expansion of outpatient and inpatient mental health services in the Upstate.

For more information on the Pavilion or how to access care, visit its website at https://prisma health.org/locations/practices/behavioral-health-wellness-pavilion.

Prisma Health is a private nonprofit health company with over 32,000 team members, 19 acute and specialty hospitals, 3,131 licensed beds, 320 practice sites, and more than 5,900 employed and independent clinicians across its clinically integrated inVio Health -. Each year, Prisma Health serves more than 1.6 million patients in South Carolina and Tennessee. 

S.C. Department of Veterans’ Affairs announces opening of new 128,000 square foot nursing home for Veterans in Sumter

Columbia – The South Carolina Department of Veterans’ Affairs (SCDVA) is now accepting applications for Veterans seeking residency in the new state Veteran home, Patriot’s Village in Sumter. Construction on the nearly 128,000 square foot is now nearing completion and expected to accept the first Veteran resident in February.

Patriot’s Village will house 104 beds offering both semi-private and private rooms. The state-of-the-art facility also has a memory care unit, large physical therapy area, bistro, barbershop and beauty salon, activity rooms, a chapel, and spacious common areas.

The Avalon Health Care Group is the contract monitor for Patriot’s Village working closely with SCDVA in the construction process to ensure the goal of supporting Veterans and providing a healthy living environment for those who have served to receive the best arrangements and care possible.

"We are incredibly excited to collaborate with the South Carolina Department of Veterans Affairs’ (SCDVA) in providing exceptional care to the Veterans of Sumter and the surrounding areas,” says Carl Hugie, Regional Vice President of Avalon Health Care. It’s a true privilege to contribute to the well-being of those who have sacrificed so much for our country. Together, we are committed to ensuring that every Veteran receives the high-quality care and respect they deserve.”

In July of 2023, South Carolina Governor McMaster signed legislation transferring the responsibility of State Veteran Homes to the South Carolina Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Since July, SCDVA has assumed responsibility of all contractor-operated homes to include the newly built Patriot’s Village in Sumter.

"The opening of Patriot’s Village in Sumter marks yet another milestone in the state of South Carolina’s commitment to providing quality, long-term care to our Veterans,” says SCDVA Secretary Todd B. McCaffrey. "Expanding access to high-quality long-term care for Veterans is a priority for the South Carolina Department of Veterans' Affairs. We are committed to working with Veterans, family members, local communities, and our care providers to ensure our facilities continue to meet the evolving needs of our Veteran population and provide a comfortable, dignified, and supportive environment for them to thrive."

SCDVA and Avalon Health Care held a ribbon cutting ceremony to commemorate the grand opening of Patriot’s Village at 915 North Wise Drive in Sumter on January 17.  

For Veterans seeking residency at Patriot’s Village or any other State Veteran Home in South Carolina, visit SCDVA’s website for information and an application at https://scdva.sc.gov/state-veterans-nursing-homes.

The South Carolina Department of Veterans' Affairs exists to serve this state's Veterans, service members, and their families and to promote the value Veterans bring to their communities and their fellow citizens.

For more information, please visit the Department online at https://scdva.sc.gov/.