News & Events
THE LIGHT: September 2023
Celebrating Our Collective Impact
You’re making a difference
You see neighbors in need, and you lovingly respond. You see someone struggling, and you offer help. You see how our city can be stronger, and you take action. Here’s how you’re making a collective impact in our community . . . one changed life at a time.
Fresh Starts
Rent for an Atlanta single family home is up 6.4% from a year ago (vs. a 5% increase nationwide). More families living paycheck to paycheck struggle to make ends meet. For those who’ve lost their homes, you’re providing meals, shelter, and the chance to get back on their feet.
Career Stability
In Atlanta, over 1 in 5 individuals is battling poverty. As rent outpaces income in Atlanta, you’re giving men and women professional job-skills training through the Atlanta Mission vocational program for better employment opportunities at a livable wage.
Safe Spaces
Children experiencing the trauma of losing their homes need a safe space to live, play, and learn with the support of caring adults and educators. Through a childcare center and curriculum seeded in trauma-informed care, you’re helping kids heal and grow to reach their God given potential.
Brighter Futures
While kids are safe alongside their moms at Restoration House, women also can walk through recovery. Through counseling, classes, and spiritual support, you’re strengthening mothers to create a brighter future for themselves and their families.
Lasting Freedom
Homelessness and addiction often go hand in hand. For those living on the streets of Atlanta, 38% struggle with alcohol dependency and 26% are addicted to drugs. At The Potter’s House and My Sister’s House, you’re empowering men and women to overcome the root cause of their addiction and find lasting freedom.
Healthy Food Affects the Mood
Personally, I’m passionate about food because it’s a means of making someone’s day brighter. I’ve had clients come to me and say they haven’t eaten in three or four days. The stress of not knowing where their next meal is coming from takes its toll on a man, woman, or child who is homeless.
But something as simple as a meal can change someone’s day, someone’s mood, someone’s outlook. I recently read a medical study that pointed out the connection between food, mood, and brain health. The research states that, “Diets high in processed foods are strongly correlated with depression.” We know that 70% of people who are homeless in Atlanta already struggle with mental health. They also suffer from higher rates of diet-related chronic illness such as hypertension and diabetes.
That’s why serving a full-balanced meal helps our clients in many ways. To reinforce healthier eating habits, one thing we’ve done is rearrange the serving line. Now, we put the proteins at the end and the vegetables come first. If someone is reluctant to put new vegetables on their plate, we offer them a small sample.
They often realize, “Oh, I do like this. I just didn’t know what it was. I’d never had it before.”
In this way, your gift of a nutritious meal goes further than you could ever imagine. Healthy food is a means of healing someone’s whole life—mind, body, and spirit—so thank you. You make it all possible!
— Merle, Food Service Manager
You can help prepare for a busy Thanksgiving now
We’re all impacted as housing and food prices rise. But the reality is that paychecks of low-income families can only stretch so far.
In proportion to their budget, our neighbors living in poverty are feeling the greatest pain from inflation. And for them, decisions like putting food on the table or paying rent are a daily reality.
That’s why the number of people we’re serving at Atlanta Mission has increased 58% in the last year alone.
But this Thanksgiving, you can provide a meal with life-changing care to men, women, and children facing homelessness or hunger —many for the very first time.
With your gift, you can demonstrate love in action by inviting families to find hope, healing, and a fresh start. Thank you for your generosity now to prepare for the busy holiday season ahead.
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” —1 Corinthians 13:13
Love in Action
There’s a memory from my childhood that stands out to me . . . I was just learning to balance on a bike. While riding down the road, my wheel hit a rock. I went flying, then landed with a thud.
As I stumbled through the front door, my mom saw my tear-stained face and torn jeans and knew exactly what had happened. She cleaned me up, made my favorite meal for dinner, and listened while I retold my story. In that moment, I remember feeling cared for and protected. I remember feeling loved.
Love is one of the most powerful feelings in the world. In 1 Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul paints a picture of what love should look like: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5 NIV).
This description sounds a lot like how Christ loves you and me on a daily basis. Jesus’ love towards us is kind, patient, selfless, and forgiving—and because of that, we’re empowered to show this same love to those around us.
When a man, woman, or child walks through the doors of Atlanta Mission, the wounds they carry run deep. But your support enables them to feel safe and protected. Thank you for giving someone who feels broken the chance to find restoration through a good meal, the listening ear of a counselor, and the care of community. You’re displaying what love in action really looks like.
Tensley Almand, President & CEO
