Integrating Services To Help Women and Children Overcome Homelessness
An estimated 21,600 people in metro Atlanta experience homelessness in the course of a year.* While the numbers may seem overwhelming, a collaborative effort by City of Refuge (COR) and Health Education Assessment and Leadership (HEAL) 
offers hope by providing integrated medical services to this underserved population. COR and HEAL have united to build the HEALing Community Center, a free clinic that opened in 2009 providing not only routine medical care, but also specialty services, including dental; mental health; ears, nose, and throat; pulmonary; and asthma. The center currently operates from a small space at City of Refuge. A capital campaign seeks to build a larger, better equipped facility in a warehouse owned by the organization. A Jesse Parker Williams grant enables the hiring of a psychiatrist and pediatrician to help round out the specialty services. Access to mental health care for homeless women is critical. As women gain stronger mental health, they are ready to face other life circumstances, such as limited education and job skills, which attribute to homelessness. For children, access to basic health care is essential to their growth and development. They need regular medical checkups and immunizations as well as hearing, vision, and dental screenings. An estimated 300 new patients will benefit from the added professional services made possible by the Foundation grant.
*Homeless Survey, Atlanta, GA, February 2005.