Action Ministries
Help and Hope for the Hurting

Local Committee

The Action Ministries Committee meets at FUMC, Ellijay and has the following members:

Overview of the North Georgia Transitional Housing Program

The purpose of Action Ministries' North Georgia Transitional Housing is to assist homeless families with children and individuals to become self-sufficient. A family or individual is considered homeless if they lack adequate shelter or are at risk of becoming homeless through circumstances not in their control. The program includes transitional housing, case management, outreach, and supportive services. Participants can remain in housing from three to twenty-four months, based on need and progress toward their goals. The geographic area served includes counties north of Macon, stretching to Augusta on the east and LaGrange on the west. Currently, 28 housing sites are available or are being developed. Georgia's Department of Community Affairs, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the United Methodist Church, and other religious groups and individual donors have provided funding for this program.

Transitional Housing for Families

This program provides a supportive setting to reorient a family to independent living. A case manager provides intensive casework, especially during the early stages of the family's stay. The program participant and case manager set goals needed for self-sufficiency and identify needed services. A local committee is created to develop a network between Action Ministries and all the different people and organizations in the town and county that may assist the family in becoming independent. This local support group is needed prior to a family's arrival in order to help with screening of applicants and necessities that accompany the move such as furniture and/or cooking equipment and other household items. Since the local support group is so crucial to the success of this program, its responsibilities are described in detail on a separate handout.

Other needed services provided by this program include job training, placement, and retention; childcare, budgeting, transportation, training in nutrition and parenting skills; educational development, and counseling. Community-based agencies provide specialized services including counseling for substance abuse and mental health issues. A volunteer mentor is assigned to the family to provide emotional support and practical counseling. As the program progresses, the family becomes more self-sufficient and moves into permanent housing.