A Crisis No One Plans For

No one expects for homelessness to be a part of their story, but for many people, it is. This week’s guest on the podcast, Teyauna, was a student athlete, native Atlantan, daughter, and honors student. She never expected to be at a point of experiencing homelessness. But after mental health struggles with depression and schizophrenia, she ended up with nowhere to go. “I didn’t want what was happening to be happening,” she says, “I’m losing my house, I already lost my car, I’m pregnant, I’m finna be homeless. I can’t go home. And it was just the lowest feeling I ever felt in my life.”

Teyauna was also especially vulnerable because she was pregnant, and she wasn’t alone. According to this study by the National Library of Medicine, “Nearly half (46.4%) of… homeless young women reported having been pregnant.” Pregnancy puts women in a uniquely dangerous situation when experiencing homelessness. Because she had no shelter, Teyauna was nearly twice as likely to have a dangerous, preterm delivery (as cited in this study from Project HOPE).

“I wanted to go home,” Teyauna says, “everything’s crumbling around me and I’m not in a good mental head space, and all this stuff is happening, literally one after another.” She needed shelter for her mental and physical safety. And then she found Atlanta Mission.

What Safe Shelter Really Means

Teyauna experienced so much trauma in her life–from her physical and mental health, and from being homeless. She needed to be somewhere safe in order to begin to rebuild. When she saw Restoration House, Teyauna was impressed. She didn’t know at the time, but everything at the shelter–even the way it was built–was intentionally created to build trust and safety for her.

Jill Pable, trauma informed design expert and creator of Restoration House, says that “trauma-informed design… [looks] to see how can we take the ideas from psychology and social work and bring them to a place where we can actually make people feel empowered in space, make them feel less crowded, help them retain their dignity.” This is one of the reasons that someone like Teyauna can feel safe and ready to grow.

“The more we can retain somebody’s dignity, the better off we will all be,” says Jill Pable. Through little things like clear signage, easy access to water, and multiple types of seating options, clients at Atlanta Mission begin to feel safe and–over time–more whole.

The Long-Term Impact of Safe Shelter

And Teyauna did begin to feel more whole. Through community, classes, self-reflection, and trust, Teyauna rebuilt herself and began raising her son, Legacy. The meeting of basic needs became the foundation for a fuller life “It made me thankful because I had shelter, hot showers, and food,” says Teyauna, “Those little things matter a lot.”

Now, Teyauna has community and support, and is pursuing her dream of starting an in-home daycare after graduation from the Atlanta Mission Next Steps program. She can think about her future again, and she can dream big about what she wants to do, with a community supporting her.

What Can You Do?

Teyauna’s story shows the complex realities of homelessness: how quickly things can unravel, and how essential safe shelter is for stability, health, and starting over.

At Atlanta Mission, we provide more than just a place to stay. We offer long-term support, mental health care, and the structure people need to rebuild their lives.

Your donation helps make that possible.
If you’d like to support women like Teyauna, you can give directly here.

Thank you to our season sponsor, Scott Pryor Law Group