Helping the Homeless

On the surface, the 1,000-square-foot, one-story building at Highway 140 and Marietta Road in Canton looks like just one more aging strip center, not a place for helping the homeless to survive freezing temperatures.

For Connie Roberts Miller, the Cherokee County Emergency Shelter is a bricks-and-mortar legacy to her family’s history of helping people in need.

“I remember back in my childhood, there would have never been a Christmas when we didn’t have someone we didn’t know with us,” recalled Miller, who said her grandmother lived near a railroad and would have hobos come for a meal before hopping on the next train.

Miller’s family owns the nine-acre site, which houses the shelter and other buildings that will be renovated to include a 5,000-square-foot worship area and an education center for computer and reading classes and job readiness assistance. Fields behind the buildings are typically filled with soccer players who are grateful to have a field on which to play.

The project began two years ago, when Randy Richardson literally bumped into Miller’s husband on the property. Richardson was a volunteer with Church on the Street, a  ministry that brings food to the day laborers in the vicinity. The two began to talk about ideas for turning the row of buildings into .

The shared  when Richardson and his nonprofit, Changed 2 Ministries, opened the shelter and helped up to 12 people on the coldest nights of winter. Guests are allowed to stay 7:30 p.m. until 7:30 a.m.

Currently, the building does not have a certificate of occupancy because there is no sprinkler system. Richardson is seeking a donor to install a system, or a way to raise the $18,000 estimated to do the job.

In the meantime, the shelter uses 12 chairs (donated by ) that stretch out into a lounging position. Once a sprinkler system is installed and a certificate of occupancy is issued, beds will be brought in.    

It is  because of their nomadic lifestyle. The Georgia Department of Community Affairs, with the help of MUST Ministries, conducted a Point In Time Count in January 2011.

The results indicated the number of “unsheltered homeless” persons in Cherokee on the night of Jan. 23, 2011, was 16, with 68 counted as “sheltered homeless.”

Miller’s daughter, Marsha Terry, is administrator of the shelter. She said the current needs include: a sprinkler system; clothes; furniture; volunteers to stay overnight; dinner and breakfast for 15-20, and translators. The shelter’s address is 89 Hickory Flat Hwy., Canton.

To make donations or volunteer, email Changed2ministries@gmail.com or call Terry at 678-372-6748.

“Personally, I would estimate that….the number of unsheltered homeless persons on the night of Jan. 23 would likely have been closer to 24-32,” said Rev. Andy Peabody, vice president of programs for MUST Ministries. “The counts…are often assumed to be undercounts because of the difficulty of totally and simultaneously surveying all persons who are, by definition, without a permanent residence.”

Peabody added that over the course of a year, there are probably a couple hundred persons who will experience homelessness, whether for a single night or weeks at a time. He also observed that numbers are up from 2009 counts (29 sheltered homeless), an indication that there are more resources for those experiencing homelessness. The need is expanding with a large increase in the number of precariously housed persons – 92 in 2011 – compared with 38 in 2009, and the number of homeless women is rising.

Although difficult to pinpoint, Terry said she knows of two homeless camps, one near Canton and the other in Woodstock. In 2008, members of Jubilee Church began taking meals to several men who were living in woods just off Highway 92. They were given blankets, clothing, food and hygiene products, and some received help finding jobs and shelter.

In March 2011, Jubilee opened Restore, a Woodstock office and food pantry at 9425 Hwy. 92, Suite 106. The offices are open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. “to meet, talk and pray with anyone in need,” Jubilee's Tracy Atkins said.

Appointments are available for those who are looking to receive help with issues around homelessness. 

“We have resources and links with other local organizations, medical facilities, counselors, treatment centers, support groups and shelters to assist those we are serving,” she said. “Our hope is that those we have the privilege to serve in this way will become better equipped to cope with life.”

For more information call 678-310-6130 or visit www.jubileechurchrestore.com.

Editor's note: A version of this story previously appeared in the January edition of The Cherokee Vine, a monthly newsletter that highlights news and events from churches, ministries and charitable organizations in Cherokee County.