The initial point of contact for many individuals with the Task Force is through our 24-Hour Homeless Assistance Hotline. The 24-Hour Homeless Assistance Hotline is a toll-free, statewide hotline and is the central component of Task Force service delivery. The Hotline provides a crucial first link between those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and the resources that they need, such as shelter, food, housing, employment, or other support. This toll-free, statewide Hotline is a fully computerized, constantly operating service linking more than 10,000 callers and their households each year with shelter, food, clothing, permanent housing, employment services and other support.
Transportation and Outreach work hand-in-hand to connect Task Force staff with hard-to-reach homeless people who are unable or unwilling to seek assistance. Staff locates unsheltered individuals wherever they may be, and works to build relationships in an effort to link them with desperately-needed resources such as shelter, medical care, food, and clothing. The program provides homeless individuals and families with free, year-round transportation between emergency shelters, overflow facilities, and other vital resources and service agencies. It is also the single program in the city that transports women and children between day and emergency night shelters. During the winter, the primary goal is to get individuals out of the dangerous cold and into shelter. Outreach and transportation are closely linked, especially during the cold months when the coordination of these programs is vital in saving lives.
Operated Monday through Friday from 8:30am — 5:00 pm, the Day Service Center offers a wide variety of resources and assistance for men, women, and children in the metro Atlanta area. Staffed with a team of 6 case workers, the Center assists individuals in obtaining permanent, affordable housing and livable-wage employment, as well as providing workshops, job training and employment referrals, vision screenings, addiction recovery placement, assistance with social security or securing IDs, HIV testing, referrals for medical and psychiatric care, or simply respite from the elements. Counselors work with clients who have a variety of needs, such as those who have recently relocated to Atlanta, those with disabilities or who need addiction treatment, veterans, or those who may be facing eviction. The Day Service Center also distributes over 1,500 monthly Job Information Directories to shelters and service providers throughout the metro area service network.
The Task Force is committed to providing shelter and service to all individuals who need it. Our overflow shelter offers refuge to over 500 men nightly, acting as one of the most vital of services for those for whom no other programs are available. Providing emergency shelter beds allows us to immediately impact people’s lives by providing a space for them to stay, and encouraging them to seek additional services through our Day Service Center for employment, housing and whatever needs they may have. Our Overflow Shelter is available to anyone seeking refuge from the streets, and is most often the first step in seeking additional services and resources.
Men who are looking to get off the streets and into homes of their own are encouraged to apply first for our Resident Volunteer Program. The RV Program serves 42 drug-free individuals who are given permanent bed and storage space in exchange for a commitment of 24 volunteer hours a week to the operations and security of our organization. Resident Volunteers work under the Task Force staff to learn the ins and outs of our programs and services, enabling them to act as leaders within the larger community of individuals who stay in our building. This is a three to six month program, often times resulting in placement into our Transitional Housing Program – a program that lasts for up to two years.
After successful completion of the RV Program, men are eligible for our two-year Transitional Housing Program, which provides supportive housing for 28 homeless men. While in the Transitional Housing Program, participants continue to have mandatory volunteer responsibilities and are expected to become an active and engaged member of our community at Peachtree-Pine. Program participants are provided with extensive case management, education and training as well as job placement assistance. Our Transitional Housing residents play an active role in the operations of our agency, and a vital role as mentors for men in the overflow shelter. The Program provides a supportive base from which residents are able to gain a foothold toward securing permanent residence.
With twelve AmeriCorps members statewide, our AmeriCorps Force directly serves approximately 8,000 homeless men, women, and children annually through a ten-month service program. As the coordinating agency, the Task Force “out-stations” 8 of the 12 Corps members to other agencies working with homeless people across the state. Corps Members stationed at the Task Force work in all facets of the organization’s operations, from staffing the hotline to assisting with building renovations. In preparing for a lifetime of service, AmeriCorps members provide critical support to numerous agencies, thus enabling them to serve thousands of homeless people throughout the metro area and statewide.
Our Voices, working in partnership with the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, teaches traditional black & white photography to people without homes, and those in transition, as a means of artistic empowerment to improve self-esteem and to foster a greater sense of community. The project provides a photography instructor, a darkroom, cameras, film, photographic paper, framing materials and exhibition opportunities to enable its participants to discover their own voices as artists and media makers.
Operating a small bike shop in the basement of our building, clients and volunteers will teach each other about bicycle maintenance and safety while earning shop hours. After completing volunteer shop hours, a client will be eligible to earn his own bicycle equipped with lights, locks, a helmet and water bottle. Once the bike is his, it can be used however he sees fit – to get to work, family, doctor appointments, etc. Clients will also be eligible to earn bikes by meeting other criteria, such as sustaining full-time employment.
The primary goal of the Task Force’s Earn-a-Bike Program is to give residents and clients a free, sustainable, and convenient way to get around the city, bridging the gap that exists right now between access and income. The Program is built on each person’s ability to maintain his bike on his own, and after learning from our program, his ability to pass that knowledge on to others. The Task Force is grateful to the SOPO Bicycle Cooperative, who will provide support for the program through volunteers, assistance with donations, and developing a bicycle safety and maintenance curriculum.
Right now, our program is new and we are looking for support. To get the program up and running, we need donations of bikes, bike parts, locks, helmets, water bottles, messenger bags, time, skills, knowledge and financial contributions.
To find out how you can help, please contact Jeremy Wisham at jeremy@homelesstaskforce.org or 404-230-5000 ext#126.
For more information please visit this link.
