Homeless No More

The United Way Regional Commission on Homelessness is making strides in providing housing, services and assistance to chronically homeless men, women and children.  

Approximately 75,000 people in Georgia will be homeless at some point this year, and more than 58,000 are children. Long-term, repetitive homelessness is an extremely high expense for our community in mental health, excessive emergency room costs and incarceration to name a few. One study indicates that the cost to the community of one chronically homeless person is more than $40,000 per year. 

By engaging community partners and volunteers in developing innovative programs and projects, we are working to end homelessness, not manage it.

Leadership Atlanta takes care of business

Leadership Atlanta had an idea: What if the business community was given more exposure to Atlanta’s homelessness problem and the good work of United Way’s Regional Commission on Homelessness. Could it spur greater action? 

Determined that the answer was yes, the renowned leadership development organization created Business Ambassadors, an outreach program designed to keep the commission and Atlanta’s homelessness program top of mind with business leaders.

One of the tools they developed and donated: A video showing how hundreds of volunteers and experienced case managers take to Atlanta’s streets every day to find homeless people and offer them a chance to end their homelessness. It’s currently making the rounds with businesses throughout metro Atlanta.

Advocacy by the box

For five years, United Way’s Shoebox Project has given individuals and organizations throughout the metro Atlanta area a way to directly advocate for the homeless. By donating wrapped boxes filled with toiletries to homeless women and children, and hosting shoebox parties that attract even more donors, hundreds of Atlantans are taking an active role in solving the challenge of homelessness.

Families with children are among the fastest-growing segments of the homeless population, and locally, women and children represent the largest population of homeless residents.  This year, nearly 14,000 shoeboxes were collected for them and distributed to more than 80 shelters throughout metro Atlanta.

“The Shoebox Project is an easy, fun way that anyone can participate in to help women
and children whose lives are in crisis,” says Evan Lee, director of Strategic Projects for United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta. “It’s a simple way that all of us can help make metro Atlanta a place where all people thrive.”

“I have walked in their shoes”

Former homeless men Horace Anthony, Tim Henning, Kinte Rollins and Russell Williams know about living on the streets. Each was once homeless – fighting to cope with the harsh conditions of street life. Now they’re using their life experiences to help others end their homelessness and begin lives of self-sufficiency by volunteering.

“I was out there with them. I slept with them, and I woke up with them,” Williams says. The team of men frequent locations around metro Atlanta known to have high concentrations of homeless people. They spend time building trust with the men and women they encounter and offering a way out of homelessness through housing and case management support.

“I know that I was scared, so I know they are, too. I really try to get to know the person and identify with them,” explains Rollins. This relationship-building approach has proven effective. Since April 2010, Rollins and other volunteers have successfully placed many of the most fragile people in transitional housing. 

For Anthony, Henning, Rollins, and Williams, volunteering with street outreach has given them the opportunity to return the help they once received. “The satisfaction of making an individual go from being dependent to self-sufficient is truly wonderful and amazing,” says Williams.