- Meet Our 2022-2023 Board President
- Care Days Kick Off
- Projects in Progress & Who HomeAid Helps
- 2022 Annual Giving Campaign
- How to Get Involved with HomeAid Atlanta
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A Note from Tony Albachiara |
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I’m honored to serve as Board President for HomeAid Atlanta in 2022-23. In the few years that I have served on the board, I’ve watched this organization grow and adapt to meet the needs of our metro Atlanta neighbors experiencing homelessness, and this year we are reaching even further to help those in need.
In 2022, we plan to complete another six projects adding 114 beds, plus a supportive service center in conjunction with the new 75-bed shelter at MUST Ministries. We have projects from Clayton County to Hall County and lots of places in between serving everyone from teenaged girls escaping sex trafficking to veterans experiencing homelessness. I know there is a way for you to jump in and help!
We also have all of our regular Community Engagement activities for you to be a part of including 10-15 Care Days, four Care Kit Assembly Days, plus our annual collection drives: Essentials Drive, Thanks for Giving, and Stock the House.
One new thing we are exploring in 2022 is how we can help with affordable housing. Looking at housing as a continuum, if we help maintain affordable housing we could keep people housed, and on the other end of the spectrum, we could help those exiting emergency and transitional housing to take the next step towards independent living. We will need all of your experience and expertise to help us explore ways that we as an industry can help ensure that everyone can afford a safe place to call their own. We are excited about this new opportunity and so appreciative of all that you do to help us build a future without homelessness.
Tony Albachiara
Senior Vice President-National Sales
Ashton Woods Homes
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Project Updates | Who HomeAid Helps
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HomeAid is currently helping construct a new building at Gateway Domestic Violence Shelter, adding 55 beds for women fleeing domestic violence, plus rooms for support groups, a dining room, offices, laundry, kitchen, overnight staff bedroom, storage, computer lab, quiet common rooms, lobby, and playroom. This project is expected to wrap up in late spring. Design2Sell will donate services and furniture items to help decorate a Teen Counseling Room and a family lobby/living space. Learn more about Gateway below.
HomeAid Atlanta’s renovation project for Ascensa Health at St. Jude’s Women’s Recovery Home will soon kick-off, with immense gratitude to the architects at BLUR Workshop and Builder Captain Bradley Hall of Hall Design Build. The project will provide much needed updates to the kitchen and bathrooms, as well as creating a new laundry space, plus overall improvements. When complete, the house will be home to 9 to 11 women working to rebuild their lives after overcoming addiction.
HomeAid is close to finishing development and getting ready to pour a slab for a new home to add 10 beds at Gigi’s House. Thanks to Ernst Concrete for generously donating labor and materials to begin construction. We plan to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for a second project at Gigi's House, a new admin and school building with Meritage Homes, in early March. Gigi's House is dedicated to serving girls ages 13-19 who are victims of sex trafficking.
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Gateway Domestic Violence Center, January 2022 |
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L to R: Bradley Hall, Hall Design Build, HomeAid Builder Captain, HomeAid Executive Director Mandy Crater, and BLUR Workshop architects: Jared Davis, Scott Sickeler, and Jonathan Massie at Ascensa Health at St. Jude's earlier this month. |
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Gigi's House, January 2022 |
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Who HomeAid Helps
HomeAid Atlanta's work helps women like this survivor, who turned her life around thanks to Gateway Domestic Violence Center. See above to learn about our current partnership with Gateway.
"My former husband mistreated me for years, but had become increasingly violent. Our relationship was a rollercoaster: things were good, but then he would hit, push, and berate me. We’d separate temporarily, but I always returned. When I finally made the decision to leave the first time, my sons and I stayed at Gateway Domestic Violence Center for about a month. I’m not exactly sure why I went back to him, but I now understand that it takes women an average of seven times to leave an abusive relationship.
He promised me he would change, but he didn’t. About six months after I had been back, he was drinking when my son asked him for a bowl of cereal. He began cursing at my son and smashed a beer bottle on the counter. As he pointed the broken bottle at our son, I stood between them. He threated to cut me and made my sons say they wouldn’t go with me if I left again. At that moment, my resolve was clear. After he passed out, I gathered the boys, drove to a supermarket parking lot, and called the police, who arrested him. Gateway had no beds available but allowed us to stay on the couch that night. Thankfully, a spot opened for us the next day.
Shortly after settling into the shelter, I learned I was pregnant. While I was scared, this time I didn’t go back. Gateway helped me get counseling and attend support groups. Talking about what I’d been through and hearing others who had similar experiences helped me feel less alone. Before Gateway, I didn’t understand what emotional abuse was. Gateway also helped me get a protective order against my husband, who had threatened to find us and take the children.
We stayed at Gateway for about a year, then moved into transitional housing. I was able to work and save, ensuring my baby was born into a safe environment. Living in that apartment was the first time in my life I’d ever been on my own, an experience that helped me grow and feel more confident in myself. Now, I am not just another statistic. The cycle of violence has been broken. I completed my education and became a medical assistant! Gateway helped me get my life back."
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2022 Annual Giving Campaign |
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Please consider a donation in support of HomeAid Atlanta's 2022 Annual Giving Campaign. Thanks to help from people like you, individual lives and families improve and completely transform. Through this transformation, each achieve the strength, stability and the independence they need to build a better life. Click the button below to view HomeAid Atlanta's 2022 Annual Giving Campaign levels and benefits.
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2022 HomeAid Atlanta Giving Partners |
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Ways to Get Involved with HomeAid Atlanta |
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- Join a build project
- Participate in a Care Day
- Join the Essentials Drive
- Pack HomeAid CareKits
- Join a Task Force
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- Make a financial contribution
- Join the Closing Campaign
- Donate building materials
- Join the Stock the House Drive
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- Hope & Homes Golf Tournament
- Ribbon Cutting Ceremonies
- Dedication Ceremonies
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GAHBA Events Support HomeAid Atlanta
When you register for a Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association (GAHBA) meeting or event, you will have an opportunity to make a 100% tax-deductible donation to HomeAid Atlanta. Just look for the green banner when completing online event registration. Check out the GAHBA's upcoming events.
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HomeAid Atlanta launched its new logo and reinvigorated brand on December 1! The new HomeAid visual identity exudes a modern, strong and adaptable logo, a new icon element, and updated positioning statements. Learn more!
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You're receiving this email because you have expressed an interest in HomeAid Atlanta or are associated with the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association. Remember to add [email protected] to your address book so we'll be sure to land in your inbox!
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