The River: Transforming Homelessness in Atlanta

05/03/2021

The River is partnering with Mercy Church Breakfast Program called 'Gritting It Through the Pandemic.' We need grits... lots of them! The River has accepted the challenge of providing 200 boxes of grits with your help!

Simply scan the QR code in the video (or see the link in our bio) and it'll take you to our Amazon wishlist so you can order the type they need and have it delivered right to the church. You can also deliver them yourself, just email info@vhchurch.org to set up a dropoff time.

OH! and have you ever wanted to dunk Pastor Matt in a dunking booth, like at a carnival? Well, here's your chance! If VHC provides 300 boxes of grits, we all get to take turns dunking Matt! Just kidding... Instead, since he doesn't like public singing, we'll get him to perform a duet with leea!

Thank you for your support and keep on 'gritting it' through this pandemic!

04/06/2020

We all have a role to play in making it better....watch and learn!

Systemic racism affects every area of life in the US. From incarceration rates to predatory loans, and trying to solve these problems requires changes in maj...

01/06/2020

Exciting news from our friends at The Hope and Dignity Community Center! They will be reopening the center on June 20 (with proper safety protocols in place), which means they'll be able to once again help neighbors who've been living outside find permanent housing, like Mr. Johnny, pictured below.

Be sure to follow The Hope and Dignity Community Center's page to learn how you can get involved!

We've served many of our neighbors with food and clothing during the pandemic, including Mr. Johnny. Mr Johnny has lived outside for many years, so once we open our doors, one of our first priorities is to help him find a permanent place to live. Speaking of....we will re-open the Community Center, with all of the proper safety protocols, on June 20!! We are excited! Let us know if you want to join us!!

27/05/2020

One of The River's main partners is The Hope and Dignity Community Center, which serves one of the most economically challenged areas of Atlanta.

The center has some amazing supporters -- one of whom recently donated 50 beautiful (handmade!) masks, complete with filters, for the community center's neighbors. A huge thank you to Patty and Bill!

Be sure to follow The Hope and Dignity Community Center's page to stay updated on the great work being done there and ways you can help.

An amazing supporter made these 50 beautiful masks by hand and donated them all to the Community Center for use by the neighbors we serve. Complete with filters!! Thank you to Patty and Bill for helping to keep everyone safe!

05/04/2020

Our partner, The Hope and Dignity Community Center, has "adopted" one of the families in the Community Center's neighborhood. They've been able to supply the Brown family with groceries and necessary items to make sure they can keep fed, safe, and happy during this challenging time for everyone.

30/03/2020

It's very difficult right now for our neighbors who live outside, and among other hardships, food is especially hard to come by during this shelter in place period. If you know anyone experiencing homelessness or know people who do, please share this list of places in and around downtown, Midtown, Grant Park, and VaHi that are serving food to help our neighbors living outside or in shelters:

Crossroads Community Ministries
420 Courtland St NE, Atlanta, GA 30308
Sack lunches available at 10a daily

SafeHouse Outreach, Inc.
89 Ellis St NE, Atlanta, GA 30303
Dinner at 6:30 in the parking lot

First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta
1328 Peachtree St NE, Atlanta, GA 30309
Sunday breakfast at 6:30a
Food Pantry open Mon., Tues, and Wed. from 1-3pm.

Intown Collaborative Ministries
1026 Ponce De Leon Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30306
Meal bags and grocery bags available Tues (11-1), Fri (11-1) and Sat (10-1)

Lutheran Church of the Redeemer
731 Peachtree St NE, Atlanta, GA 30308
Serving food Mon-Fri from 10:30a to 11:30a.

Action Ministries
To-go meals available at Trinity Assessment Center (265 Washington St SW, Atlanta, GA 30303) on Sundays from 11a-12:30p.
To-go meals for Women and Children available at Grace United Methodist Church (458 Ponce De Leon Ave) – M/W/F from 12-1p. Guests must be present at 10:30a to receive.

Mercy Community Church
1025 Ponce de Leon Ave NE. Atlanta, GA 30306 Breakfast (8:30a) and lunch (12p) available Mon, Wed, Thurs

Butler Street CME Church
23 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive SE, Atlanta, GA 30303
To-go meals Wed. 4p-7p.

St. John the Wonderworker
543 Cherokee Ave SE, Atlanta, GA 30312
Breakfast available Mon-Fri at 9a.

Motivation Forward, Inc.
370A Auburn Ave. Atlanta, GA or call 404-951-1062
To-go meals available daily 8a to 7p

Church of the Common Ground
Woodruff Park
To-go sack lunches on Sundays at 1pm.

14/03/2020

Those experiencing homelessness are very vulnerable to the coronavirus, for all of the reasons explained here. Our friends who live outside are especially at risk, as well as the people who do outreach work with them.

As more people across the United States test positive for coronavirus, one of the most vulnerable populations are America's homeless, experts say.

21/02/2020

A huge congratulations to one of our first partners, Intown Collaborative Ministries. They are introducing a new program in partnership with the Atlanta Police Department’s HOPE (Homeless Outreach Proactive Enforcement) team. Currently the Atlanta HOPE team has 5 officers who have been focused on relationship building and compassionate response while enforcing laws. This initiative will partner three new Intown Outreach case workers with HOPE officers to provide a bridge between people experiencing homelessness and the police department's mission to ensure Atlanta is a safe and secure community for all. This will transform the way that we respond to those experiencing homelessness. Thank you ICM, and congratulations!!

18/02/2020

As we have said again and again, the lack of a birth certificate is one of the biggest barriers to moving ahead for someone experiencing homelessness.

In 2017, the River partnered with the Community Services department of First Presbyterian Church because they do one of the best jobs in Atlanta of securing birth certificates and IDs for our friends who live outside (86 birth certificates or IDs in January 2020 alone!).

The team at First Presbyterian often has to overcome a series of hurdles to obtain identification for someone experiencing homelessness. A recent example was for a woman named Lynn, whose address on her military ID did not match a current mailing address. A bureaucratic hop-scotch ensued, and after two months of hard work by the First Pres staff and lots of patience from Lynn, she was mailed her birth certificate. Another huge win!!

To find out more about the services First Presbyterian offers and their compassionate, hard-working team, visit their website: https://firstpresatl.org/community-ministries/

06/02/2020

Homeless Jesus? We are rarely challenged by this image of the impoverished Christ, lying on a bench, covered by a blanket, with his feet showing the scars of crucifixion. But—this is exactly who Jesus was. And his life challenges us to honor the poor, the homeless, and the impoverished in ways that should make us uncomfortable.

Sculpture by Timothy P. Schmalz: http://ow.ly/LO1g50yfDgk

30/01/2020

We all have in our minds what we think a homeless person looks like. But what happens when their appearance challenges such preconceived notions? Isn't "Wow, he/she doesn't look homeless" the first thought that goes through our mind?

As this article points out, here's how those experiencing homelessness think about their appearance: "You must find balance between being visible enough to get help and being invisible enough to go undetected. If you stay at this long enough, it will quickly erode your health, your stamina, even your will to live." Read the full article:

If you look homeless, you're more likely to be shunned than if you look normal. If you look normal, people assume you are doing well and don't need help.

22/01/2020

One of the most impactful gifts that The River ever made was to build The Hope and Dignity Community Center in one of the most economically deprived parts of west Atlanta—and it’s been a huge success! On Saturday, we had 32 kids at the center.

Currently, we have 8 donated laptops for the kids to use in fun learning experiments, but we need many more!! If you or your company can donate a laptop or two, please let us know by sending us a private message here or emailing David Gillespie at davidgillespie404@gmail.com. We're looking for 10 more laptops, and they can be either PC or Mac.

Our kids would be very grateful for your support. With your help, we can positively impact even more kids!!