Jamieson Requests Goodwill Building for Open Arms Clinic

Former State Representative and current Toccoa City Commissioner Jeanette Jamieson is asking Stephens County to donate a vacant industrial building to the Open Arms Clinic.

Jamieson spoke to Stephens County Commissioners on Tuesday about the Goodwill Building on Clary Connector in Eastanollee.

That building recently became vacant and available when Goodwill Industries consolidated its operations in northeast Georgia in Cornelia.

As a result, the building was taken into possession by Stephens County, which set up an intergovernmental agreement with the Development Authority for that agency to sell the building.

Jamieson, during her time as a State Representative, helped obtain the financing for Goodwill Industries to obtain the building.

She said she feels that giving the building to Open Arms would hold true to the intent of the financing that helped get the building in the first place.

“I remind the commission that the funds for this property were originally a Local Assistance Grant from the Georgia General Assembly to Stephens County to be used for a specific group of people and that was the mentally ill and the physically handicapped,” said Jamieson.  “It was a work location for them.”

The Open Arms Clinic provides medical care to those who need it and have no other way of obtaining it in Stephens County.

Jamieson said they serve hundreds of people regularly with more than 300 people on a waiting list to be seen.

“This facility has a patient list of 363 people,” said Jamieson, who added all of the patients are working poor in Stephens County who do not have health insurance because they are not offered it or cannot afford it.

Jamieson did not specify how the Clinic would make use of this building.

County commissioners said they will consider the request.