Only one organization in the north Fulton County area offers a private crisis-housing program.
The Drake House, based in Roswell, dates back to 2004, when a leadership class identified the need for emergency housing for single mothers without a home.
A 16-unit apartment complex was identified as a future shelter, and volunteers had it open two years later. Over the next two decades, The Drake House has worked to provide space for single mothers and their children who are unhoused in North Fulton.
Northside Hospital is a supporter of this organization.
“The Drake House provides housing and supportive programming to help single mothers and their children overcome a circumstance of homelessness and achieve economic independence and lasting stability,” said Nesha Mason, president of The Drake House.
The organization provides three levels of programming to help its clients overcome the trauma of homelessness, starting with apartments for up to six months without living expenses for “triage from the trauma that they’ve just experienced,” Mason said.
Afterward is transitional housing in The Drake Village, then a housing stability program for families ready to move onto independent living.
“We’re just helping with some rental support and career services to help them continue to grow, and to increase their income,” Mason said.
“While we're working with the moms, we're supporting the kids with after-school enrichment as well as teen programming, helping them identify their career paths for after they graduate high school. It really is our intention to be a community of support that wraps around the whole family to help them move from the trauma of homelessness to stable, healthy living.”
One example is a recent graduate of The Drake House’s program. “The thing that really resonated with me that she said was that she appreciated most about our programming was that she learned to get out of her own way,” Mason said, “and accept community and have the opportunity to walk alongside a family and to have them open their hearts to receive the help that we’re here to provide.
“At The Drake House, we hear women and that’s why we offer a community of support that not only helps them overcome the circumstance of homelessness but also embraces them as they walk to stability. The Drake House makes sure women are heard.”
For emergency shelter or housing assistance, call 844-249-8367.
Learn more about community partnerships at Northside.
