People face homelessness for many reasons and in many different circumstances. For some, it’s a small piece of their life story, while for others, it is much larger. Every one of our clients has different experiences when it comes to their homelessness.

According to The National Coalition for the Homeless, there are 3 different types of homelessness people may face:

1. Transitional Homelessness: Those facing transitional homelessness likely enter a shelter for one, short period of time as they get back on their feet. It’s a very small piece of their life story. This type of homelessness accounts for a large portion of the clients at Atlanta Mission.

2. Episodic Homelessness: This would be someone who finds themselves in and out of shelters as they work through their past traumas or deal with any addictions they may be facing.

3. Chronic Homelessness: Someone would be classified as chronically homeless if shelters are more long-term for them. It’s typically never a quick shelter stay.

One of the first things we do when someone walks through our doors is determine if they want to choose help. Choosing help is a critical step for our clients and the foundation of true life transformation. It is here we are able to help them determine the type of homelessness they are facing, why they are facing homelessness, and what they want their next step to be.

Allowing our clients to choose help means we aren’t forcing anyone to do anything they aren’t comfortable with. We are allowing them to decide that they want a change in their lives.  

Last year, more than 1,700 men, women, and children decided to choose help.

Once they choose help, they can complete a needs assessment to figure out the next steps. Our ultimate goal for everyone that walks through our doors is life change. We do this through our Transformation Model.

It’s important to understand that not every person facing homelessness looks the same or arrived at their homelessness the same way. We all have a different life story, and a different path to walk. Our goal is to help everyone that wants us to, pointing them to transforming their lives.