May 2011

Hello my friend,                                                                                                                  

    I hope that you and yours are blessed and are a blessing to others as well. Because of your blessings to SafeHouse, people are able to see Real. Practical. Change.  in their lives.  Like the young woman in the story below:

    Last week a 19 year old woman showed up at SHO.  She had gone to another service provider here in town and they had referred her to us. Keana was a little different than some of the other people we serve. She wasn’t on the extreme end of down-and-out. She already had a part time job, a high school diploma, and was enrolled in Atlanta Technical College.

    But, Keana was fleeing an abusive relationship. She had nowhere to live and she was 5 months pregnant.

    Although she didn’t have an appointment, we were able to see her on the spot. She enrolled in the Women of Action or WOA program. It’s called Women of Action because we teach the women how to problem solve and find resources on their own- we want it to be their action that moves them forward.

    In this program we use Life Action Plans © to map out a person’s life. There are 3 focus areas: Critical Needs, Sustaining Solutions, & Dream Work.    

    After the initial evaluation it was obvious that her #1 critical need was housing. We were fortunate to be able to get her into a transitional housing program within in a week.

    Assistance with food and transportation were the #2 and #3 critical needs to tackle next. She was able to sign up for TANF and located a service provider for MARTA card assistance. But with no home, she had no place to receive important mail, no mail box. We enrolled her in our mail service program. For $1 a month, she can use SHO as her mailing address and receive mail here. 

    Because the transitional housing program requires that she has a full time job; Keana got another part time job so she would be able to stay in the program.

    And as part of the SHO Women of Action program and the Hand-Up component, she can earn incentive points by making her appointments, completing tasks, and attending Parent Education classes. These can be redeemed for personal  hygiene items, day planners, baby clothes and equipment, and diapers.   

    She’s not finished yet, but she’s on her way to a transformed life.  She’s studying for an Early Childhood Care and Education degree, intends on supporting herself and her child and living in her own apartment soon.

    And she can do it. So many people we serve just need a hand-up after a fall. And that is true of Keana. She continues to make her appointments at SHO and understands what she needs to do to keep moving forward.

    Thanks for your support for programs like Women of Action. With your partnership we can bring Real. Practical. Change. to those who need it.

     It’s the kind of Change that transforms individuals, communities, and even entire cities. Nice to know that you’re part of something bigger than yourself and something that has lasting impact.        

 From the city,

 

 

 You can bring REAL. PRACTICAL. CHANGE. to someone:

$30/month: supplies for the Hand-Up Center Computer Lab

$125/month: sponsors 1 child in Youth Reach programs

$250/month: provides medical supplies for Health Services