News & Events
THE LIGHT: May 2024
Challenges Facing Vulnerable Mothers and Children
Here’s how YOU can come alongside them!
Mothers are the heart and soul of the family. Moms calm fears and wipe away tears, making sure their kids are loved and nurtured. They sacrifice long hours and late nights to care for children. And more moms than ever are doing it alone.
Within the last six decades in the U.S., the number of children raised by single mothers has increased dramatically. In 1960, just 5 million children lived with only their mother. Today, this number is 25 million—over 40% of the kids in America.
Yet these hard-working, single-parent families are among the poorest in the nation. Their resources are severely limited—and as food and housing costs climb, they’re the most vulnerable to homelessness.
Still, it’s their children—the future of our community—who suffer the fallout. Kids from struggling single-parent families are more likely to drop out of school, face mental health problems, become drug dependent, encounter the criminal justice system, and see the cycle of poverty and homelessness continue in their own lives.
Despite these heartbreaking statistics, there’s hope for mothers and children experiencing the trauma of homelessness. Your support of Atlanta Mission is surrounding moms with wrap-around care.
You’re coming alongside families facing poverty and helping them overcome past pain and brokenness.
You’re surrounding moms with support to grow and creating a future where children can thrive.
FROM THE EXPERTS
Fostering Emotional Wellbeing
Mothers are the models of healthy emotional regulation and wellbeing for their children. But chronic mental health challenges, like depression, can have a devastating effect on young kids.
Sadly, mothers in poverty experience depression and anxiety at rates much higher than the average. Mental health challenges like these can make it hard to create the nurturing environment that’s so necessary for children’s development.
“If you want a child to be functioning well, tend to the person who’s tending the child,” says Suniya Luthar, PhD, a professor on resilience. Supporting mothers with counseling and positive parenting skills helps create the secure environment children need to foster emotional wellbeing and grow resilience that overcomes adversity.
Maternal Poverty and Stress
“Poverty presents profound hardships for both mothers and their children. Low-income families are more likely to live in neighborhoods with high rates of crime, drug abuse, and failing schools. Researchers have found links between growing up poor and differences in cognitive development.
“For example, losing a home or not having access to food has negative consequences on the brain and body. Long-term exposure to stress weakens children’s brain circuits for learning, problemsolving, and impulse control and increases health risks.
“It’s absolutely critical that when a mother and her children first arrive at Atlanta Mission, we care for their emergency needs in our calm, caring environment. When mothers and children feel safe, equipped to mitigate stress, and empowered to leave poverty behind, stability can be restored in a family’s life.”
Shay DeLeon, Mental Health Counselor at My Sister’s House
EMERGENCY
For a mother who’s had to worry if her kids will have enough to eat or where they’ll sleep, a family’s first step towards stability is your gift of nutritious meals, a warm bed, clothing, showers, and immediate care.
The pressure single mothers feel is directly related to their poverty level. As food and housing costs climb, wages from low paying jobs remain stagnant—pushing more families toward homelessness.
ENVIRONMENT
The majority of mothers on the streets are carrying painful stories of abuse. Your partnership with Atlanta Mission is welcoming them into Restoration House, our trauma-informed shelter for women and children.
Restoration House is designed to give clients choice and control. Calming elements like warm wood finishes and soft lighting reduce stress so families can rest and recover to leave homelessness behind.
EXCEL
Your support is empowering mothers to overcome poverty by
developing job skills through our vocational training program. At
the same time, they’re connected with employment opportunities that offer family-sustaining wages.
Alongside this, parenting and life-skills classes help moms
build better tool sets to manage stress and cultivate healthier
relationships for the long-term.
EMPOWER
Counselors and advocates provide one-on-one emotional and spiritual support to help moms break free from addictions and heal from mental health challenges, like depression or anxiety.
By investing in trauma-informed care for both mothers and
kids, you’re allowing families to heal in a safe space. No longer
navigating their struggles alone, moms can create stability and a
stronger foundation for their children.
“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.” – Psalm 68:5 NIV
You leave a lasting legacy when you invest in moms
On Mother’s Day, a remarkable 23 million stems of flowers are sold. Bouquets are by far the season’s most popular gift. But instead of giving a bloom that fades, you can give a gift that lasts. It’s not too late to invest in moms in Atlanta who need healing after homelessness.
When you give now, your gift is like a seed planted in good soil. The reason why is because when someone walks into Atlanta Mission, they are cared for with Christ’s compassion. They’re surrounded with loving support to grow. Through meals, shelter, counseling, and life-changing care, mothers can cultivate strength for a fresh start and blossom hope for a better life.
Your gift now is doubled, up to $100.000.
Imagine how far your multiplied impact will go in changing lives. It can impact a mother, her children, and her grandchildren. You can leave a legacy that goes beyond the here and now—and into future generations. Give a gift that lasts by supporting moms at Atlanta Mission.
