Athens Banner Herald on the AAHS 25th Anniversary and helping mothers transition out of homelessness

Shelter gets mom on feet (Click title for original article)
Article by: Don Nelson – don.nelson@onlineathens.com

Crystal Sapp eagerly awaits April 29, the day when she and her two young daughters will leave the Athens Area Homeless Shelter and establish their own home in an Eastside apartment – where they will be reunited with Sapp’s fiancé, Maxie Harrison.

Sapp, 28, and Harrison, who has been working and living in Florida for several months, will be moving into one of the recently rehabilitated Habitat for Humanity apartments in East Athens for a transitional period, and hope to move into a house eventually, Sapp said.

“It’s going to be very exciting to move,” Sapp said. “Thirty percent of my income will pay my rent – I can afford that – and I’ll meet with budget counselors while there, and within a year to 18 months, I should have my own home.”

Before moving into the homeless shelter, Sapp, her 5- and 6-year-old girls and Harrison were living in a hotel. Both adults worked, making enough together to cover the lodging costs.

Sapp pursued a part-time job, while Harrison brought in the main income from full-time work. When Harrison got laid off, however, they could not afford to pay the hotel rates, so they had to leave. Harrison moved to Florida to stay with his family and find another job, and Sapp sought help at the homeless shelter.

She’s been at the AAHS for more than three months, and the organization has provided her a chance to get back on her feet.

“They’ve helped me so much with so many different things,” Sapp said. “They helped me get a steady, stable, full-time job, and I’ve gotten a car, which I never had my entire life.”

The AAHS also helped Sapp save 70 percent of her paycheck for the future. Harrison sent some of his earnings to supplement their rent/savings account, she said.

As importantly, the homeless shelter gave Sapp and her family peace of mind.

“My kids have a place to sleep, and my (parents) sleep better at night knowing I’m somewhere safe and clean,” she said.

The AAHS serves homeless women and their dependent children and can accommodate six families or a total of 24 individuals at a time, said Executive Director Meredith Williams.

“They can stay with us for a total of 24 months while they job search, work or are enrolled in an educational program,” Williams said. “The typical stay is around nine to 12 months for most families.”

What Sapp likes about the shelter is that she has had her own bedroom and bathroom for herself and her daughters.

“When I first came to the shelter, I thought it was going to be a big room with a bunch of cots,” Sapps aid. “But I have my own bedroom and own bathroom. I decorated it how I want it, and it makes it easy for me to call it my home.”

The AAHS started in 1986 as an emergency overnight shelter with 10 cots housed in a facility that belonged to the Athens Housing Authority. Two years later, the AAHS opened its 18-bed shelter offering sleeping arrangements to the homeless for more than one night at a time. The agency also expanded its services, offering three daily meals, laundry facilities, clothing assistance and crisis intervention.

During the mid-1990s, the organization began focusing on serving homeless families, but still offered individuals sleeping arrangements in two dorm areas of the shelter. The AAHS also adopted Athens Technical College’s JobTREC program, which offers help in getting a job.

In 2007, the AAHS began providing transitional shelter for homeless single women and their children, exclusively.

The AAHS marks its 25th anniversary this month, and to celebrate, board members and volunteers have planned two fundraising events – a 25th anniversary luncheon and a golf tournament.

The luncheon is scheduled for noon April 19 in the Terrace Room at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. Williams will give a brief presentation on what the agency has accomplished and what’s in store for the future. Tickets are $25 and can bepurchased online or by calling 706-354-0423.

For reservations or more information on the luncheon or golf tourney, call (706) 354-0423, or emailinfo@helpathenshomeless.org

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.