Central Outreach and Advocacy Center

We open doors to overcome and prevent homelessness by empowering our guests to take the next step toward self-sufficiency, passionately and intentionally telling our guests’ stories to educate others, and ensuring we have the resources to be at our best. We believe in meeting people where they are with patience and humility, and treating each person with respect and dignity. This mission and these values play out in many ways, one of which is told by one of our staff members:

"I worked with a guest today who needed a Georgia ID.  Because he didn't have any identifying documents, I was worried he would need to go through a lot of steps to get what he needed. However, he already had his Social Security card and I was able to print out his voter registration, both of which can be used to get a new ID.  He hadn’t been sure if he was registered to vote or not, but when we realized he was, I told him he could go get his new ID that day.  He was really excited because it meant he could get his own apartment.  He had struggled with addiction in the past and was staying in a shelter/treatment program but he was ready to move forward. The resources we provided gave him the ability to do that."

Did You Know? When you lack stable housing, it is really difficult to keep up with important documents. They often get stolen, lost, or damaged because there's no safe place to put them.

For the thousands of guests we see each year who don’t have a birth certificate or ID, we help to open to the first door to more opportunities. Opportunity may look like accessing transitional housing, the ability to vote, or hope to access future employment. Every day we help guests to request documents that verify their name, provide a stable address for them to receive correspondence, and remove the financial barriers of getting ID.

For every $25 donation we receive, a guest is able to secure a birth certificate opening the first door to housing.