Spring Newsletter 2011

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Become a Shelter Provider: 25 dollars for 25 years

Become a Shelter Provider andgive $25* or more per month in honor of our 25 years of service to the community.

Since 1986, the Athens Area Homeless Shelter has provided shelter and supportive services to homeless families in Athens-Clarke County.

During one of the coldest months of the year in 1986, the Athens community provided 10 cots to serve as a response for the critical need for emergency shelter for the homeless in the community. Since that time, the Athens Area Homeless Shelter has grown into an organization that seeks to not only provide shelter, but provide the homeless in Athens with the tools necessary for long-term independence and economic self-sufficiency.

In honor of our 25th year, become a Shelter Provider and continue to participate in Athens’ compassionate response to homelessness.

In 2011, as the community recognizes our 25 years of moving the homeless closer to home, we challenge you to pause with us and remember our past and partner with us to ensure quality and effective services for the future.

Shelter Providers give monthly to AAHS, helping to create a predictable funding stream that helps us to serve our clients efficiently and effectively.

In 2010, the AAHS Transitional Shelter Program served 16 single homeless mothers and their children, providing them with shelter, child care vouchers, and training programs that reduced their barriers to stable housing. Supported by hundreds of community volunteers providing meals, facility maintenance, program support, and a highly trained staff, 86% of program participants were still housed and employed six months after leaving the program.

In keeping with its historic commitment to help homeless individuals in the community, the JobTREC program served nearly 380 individuals with services that helped to increase their employability in 2010. Program participants received personal case management with skilled social workers, transportation vouchers to help with job searches, and clothing vouchers to help obtain appropriate clothing for work interviews or uniforms. Over 70% of JobTREC clients experienced an increase in income during program enrollment.

*What can $25 per month do over the course of a year?

• Provide nearly one month of child care to a homeless infant with a working parent.
• Provide 3 months of diapers for sheltered children.
• Provide 5 months of transportation for employed homeless mothers.

To sign up to become a Shelter Provider, click here or contact Meredith Williams at 706-354-0423 or director@helpathenshomeless.org.

As our thanks to you, Shelter Providers receive two tickets to the Harvest for the Homeless annual event and two tickets to the Stadion Classic at UGA.

Learn: How Many People In Athens Area Homeless?

The 2011 Athens-Clarke County point-in-time count of homeless individuals in revealed that there are407 people in Athens that reported experiencing homelessness at the time of the count.

Athens-Clarke County, Georgia has the highest rate of poverty in counties with a population of more than 100,000 across the United States, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness reports that from 2008-2009, the largest increase in homeless subpopulations nationwide was in the number of family households, which increased by over 3,200 households (4% increase).

Nationally, while most homeless persons are sheltered, 4 in 10 were living on the street, in a car, or in another place not intended for human habitation.

From 2008 to 2009, conditions worsened among all four economic indicators that contribute to homelessness: housing affordability for poor people, unemployment, poor workers’ income, and foreclosure status.

AAHS works with the homeless to reduce their barriers to stable housing and self-sufficiency. Learn more about how we help to end homelessness at helpathenshomeless.org/learn.  To partner with AAHS, consider making a gift today.