The Atlanta Mission podcast
Shedding light on some of the city’s toughest issues
You see things that help transform you into someone you never thought you’d be.
Barry left home at 13, took his first drink at 11, and spent years living on the streets of Atlanta before addiction and repeated hospital stays finally led him to The Potter’s House. Today, he’s nearly two years into working there as staff — the same program that once helped him get sober. In this episode of Unseen Atlanta, Barry shares the voice he heard in his car that told him to take the job, what it was like to come back to campus not as a client but as a coworker, and how he now carries his story into both The Potter’s House and the Atlanta hospital where he works as a CNA. It’s a full-circle story about second chances, showing up for the people who once showed up for you, and trusting that the sky really is the limit.
Make sure you have at least three people.
Sleeping outside Restoration House for two days, Laquana waited and prayed she’d get a bed before her body gave her away. She was seven months pregnant. In this episode of Unseen Atlanta, Laquana shares what it took to get sober, rebuild trust with her daughters, and learn to lean on a community instead of running from it. Her story is about what happens when someone finally accepts they’re not okay – and finds the people who won’t let them go through it alone. It talks about the power of community and leaning on others when life gets heavy.
“The only place that answered the phone was Atlanta Mission.”
Before he ever walked through the gate at the Shepherd’s Inn, Armon spent 40 years behind a pulpit — a pastor, a musician, a man well-known in his community. Then, almost overnight, he lost his job, his car, and his income. He found himself standing outside a shelter he never imagined needing. In this episode of Unseen Atlanta, Armon shares how a single answered phone call led him from “Lord, I don’t want to be here” to discovering a piano nobody was playing — and a calling he never saw coming. It’s a story about being broken, being humbled, and hearing God say “this is your assignment” in the last place you’d expect. Stick around to the end for a live performance from Armon himself.
“We’re so glad that you rested, because now it’s time to do the work.”
Tanya has spent five years helping women and children move from crisis to stability at My Sister’s House. But the moment that stays with her isn’t a program milestone. It’s a phone call from a former client who told her, “I never knew love until Atlanta Mission loved me.” In this episode, Tanya walks us through what it actually takes to rebuild a life. It’s a conversation about structure and systems, but underneath it, it’s about what it means to be seen. Every day, before she pulls out of the parking lot, Tanya asks herself one question: did I give someone a reason to hold on for one more day? Listen to find out what she means.
“My job is to make sure they don’t have to do this twice like I did.”
Andy walked into the Potter’s House in 2008 with nothing but a duffle bag and a habit he couldn’t outrun. It wouldn’t be simple. What followed was a relapse, a hard phone call, and a choice that ended up rewriting far more than just his own life. Two generations of his family carried the same addiction he did — and what Andy did next changed that story for all of them. Today he sits on the other side of the desk, walking other men through the same program that saved him. This is a story about how one decision can break a cycle that ran generations deep. Hear Andy’s full story on Unseen Atlanta.
“I Needed to Retool My Toolbox”
By his 60s, Derryl had built a business that employed 25 musicians and carved out a life doing exactly what he loved. Then COVID came and took everything — the gigs, the income, eventually even the roof over his head. For two years, his car in a hospital parking lot was home. But Derryl’s story isn’t about hitting rock bottom. It’s about what happens when someone who spent decades helping other people finally lets others help him — what it costs and what it builds to start over from scratch.
“It all starts with saying yes. Just showing up.”
When you walk through the doors of Atlanta Mission, not because it’s your job, but because you chose to be there, our clients notice. They notice the difference between someone who has to show up and someone who wanted to. In this episode of Unseen Atlanta, we talk about what that choice actually looks like and how Atlanta Mission will find a place for whatever you bring. A Georgia Tech student running a STEM workshop. Someone who loves kids showing up to play. A person with a few free hours on Tuesday learning the names of everyone who walks through the door. Whatever your skills, your schedule, your passions, there’s a role here that fits. And it will matter more than you know.
“The very thing you’re running from is what you need to face.”
For Elliot, that realization didn’t come easily. After a lifetime of feeling like he didn’t matter, and learning to push people away before they could hurt him, he found himself at a point where something had to change. In this episode of Unseen Atlanta, Elliot shares what it looked like to stop running, face the past, and begin doing the hard work of transformation. His story is a powerful reminder that growth often begins in the very places we’ve spent the most time avoiding.
“If you keep carrying the same old bricks, you’re gonna keep building the same old house.”
After the loss of his wife, Eric found himself trying to cope with grief in ways that only made things worse. In this episode of Unseen Atlanta, he shares how unprocessed grief led him deeper into addiction, and what it looked like to finally confront what he was carrying. Eric’s story is about the moment things begin to shift in your life, and the decision to start rebuilding, one step at a time, in the midst of deep pain.
“It’s gonna be like a road trip… that’s stationary.”
That’s how Shanae explained sleeping in a car at Racetrac with her kids, trying to make the best of an impossible situation.
Up Next
You see things that help transform you into someone you never thought you’d be.
Make sure you have at least three people.
“The only place that answered the phone was Atlanta Mission.”
“We’re so glad that you rested, because now it’s time to do the work.”
“My job is to make sure they don’t have to do this twice like I did.”
“I Needed to Retool My Toolbox”
“It all starts with saying yes. Just showing up.”
“The very thing you’re running from is what you need to face.”
“If you keep carrying the same old bricks, you’re gonna keep building the same old house.”
“It’s gonna be like a road trip… that’s stationary.”
Up Next
You see things that help transform you into someone you never thought you’d be.
Make sure you have at least three people.
“The only place that answered the phone was Atlanta Mission.”
“We’re so glad that you rested, because now it’s time to do the work.”
“My job is to make sure they don’t have to do this twice like I did.”
“I Needed to Retool My Toolbox”
“It all starts with saying yes. Just showing up.”
“The very thing you’re running from is what you need to face.”
“If you keep carrying the same old bricks, you’re gonna keep building the same old house.”
“It’s gonna be like a road trip… that’s stationary.”
