The stories of the individuals and families who find a path to a healthy, successful life at Nicholas House are living evidence that our mission is alive in the world.
Nicholas House was started in 1982, when frustrated parishioners of St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church couldn’t find a shelter in Atlanta capable of housing homeless families. We’re working hard to solve this issue, yet the situation remains largely unresolved because the standard is still to separate families by age and gender – despite devastating consequences.
Imagine how you would feel if you were experiencing homelessness and did not know where you would find a place to sleep or your next meal.
Think how you would feel if you had no option but to move your family into a facility that offered no privacy – a place where you had to eat, sleep and sometimes even shower in a room full of strangers, many of them with substance abuse problems, criminal backgrounds and mental disorders.
Now consider about how you would feel if you had to do all of the above while separated from all or part of your family. You know they are someplace similar, but you have no real confidence about where they are, whether or not they are safe, or if they are scared without you. And you are completely powerless to do anything about it.
It’s unthinkable, isn’t it?
No. It’s a simple fact that a record number of Atlanta families are forced to confront every day. These families are evicted from their homes, only to find there’s nowhere in our city capable of keeping them together long enough to fix their situation.
According to one survey, more than 1,200 families and 800 children are homeless each night in the city of Atlanta!
Nicholas House takes homeless families. We take homeless families no other shelter in Atlanta is willing or able to take. We provide them with the skills and resources they need to get back on their feet and stay there.
Here are a few of their inspiring success stories.
Angel
When her mom died, Angel experienced a nervous breakdown that left her unable to work. She was able to send her two oldest sons to live with a relative, but without any other support she and her youngest son and daughter became homeless.
Shahidah
At age 18, Shahidah bravely escaped an arranged marriage that had begun when she was only 13 years old.
Deborah
Deborah escaped her abusive relationship- but her freedom from violence came at a cost. She and her daughter were left without a place to live.
Renee
Renee never imagined that her family would be without a home of their own.
Temica
A brain tumor nearly tore Temica’s family apart– and left she and her children homeless.
Karen
Karen used to see homeless people on the street and feel sorry for them, but never thought that she and her daughter would be in that position themselves.
Dante
Dante lost everything when the nursing home where he had worked for 15 years shuttered its doors, leaving him without a job to provide for his wife and children.
April and Arnold
April and Arnold, a married couple with six children, never imagined that health problems would make their family homeless.
Likeyshia
Likeyshia was living happily with her one-year-old daughter and was nine months pregnant with her second child when her children’s father was murdered.
RoShawn
RoShawn and her two children became homeless when the friends they were staying with weren’t able to pay rent and were evicted by their landlord, leaving her family with nowhere to go.
Lachelle
Lachelle and her six children became homeless after she left her children’s alcoholic father, then was ordered to bed rest while pregnant with her youngest.
Tamara
Like far too many families, Tamara and her three children became homeless when they fled domestic violence.
Ms. Stiles
Humble, smart, loyal, determined, and gracious. These words describe Ms. Stiles, a single grandmother whose life was turned upside down when her daughter could not properly care for her children.
Ms. Walton
After the murder of her brother with whom she shared a home, Ms. Walton, a single mother, found herself unable to afford the cost of housing.