Located on 375 S. Peter St., the Homeless Day Service Center serves as a physical and emotional refuge for homeless citizens in Athens-Clarke County. The center provides its clients with a place to stay, as well as financial and mental health counseling.
by Robert Carnes
The Athens Day Homeless Service Center located at 375 S. Peter St. provides the homeless with relief from the elements, and the two case managers on staff attempt to provide the homeless with relief from their struggles.
“First, we try to understand why they’re on the streets to begin with,” said case manager Ed Moore. “Then we can work towards helping them improve their situation.”
Both case managers meet with clients one-on-one to address the obstacles they face. These problems range from mental issues to drug and alcohol abuse.
“Together we set specific goals to deal with individual problems,” Moore said.
Open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the service center takes a unique approach by caring for the emotional needs of their clients. They are given the attention necessary to help them recover from their situation.
“Between five and twenty-five people will come in on an average day,” case manager Ryan Halsey said. “The number of people here varies from day to day. It certainly seems like more people have been coming in because of the current economy. Many people here have recently lost their jobs.”
Clients’ financial well-being is important, too. Moore will soon take on the role of benefit specialist, a position concerned with the Social Security benefits available to clients.
The service center falls under the management of Advantage Behavioral Health Systems, an organization dedicated to the prospect of improving mental health. Advantage is a publicly funded organization governed by the Community Service Board that serves 10 Georgia counties.
Access to showers, telephones, and laundry machines is available at the center, but the focus is constantly on the available counseling. The homeless benefit from donations of clothes and hygiene products, but the lasting impact comes from the professional attention they get from the center’s staff.
“The overall goal is to help the homeless find and maintain stable housing,” said Matt Hurd, program manager of adult mental health services at Advantage. “Athens has a large homeless population, but we strive to work with them on an individual basis to help overcome their personal obstacles.”
For clients able to prove significant improvement and consistent employment, the center helps to pay a deposit or first month’s rent.
“Our hope is that eventually a client doesn’t need us any more,” Hurd said.
The center is one of several other Advantage services available in Athens. As part of an on-going continuum of care, these locations work together in promoting adult mental health in the city.
Jenna Moon and Jamar Johnson are both seniors in the University of Georgia’s College of Social Work. As part of their course work, both must work directly with a demographic of their choice.
“Advantage is a big organization, which makes it easy to connect people with the services they need,” said Moon. “But the other resources are spread out. This center is a hub that directs people to the right place.”
Johnson is working towards a double major in social work and psychology. He one day hopes to go to graduate school and study the effects of divorce on people.
“As interns, we act as a buffer between the clients and the case managers,” said Johnson. “But our responsibilities are growing and we will eventually take on some of the tasks of a case worker.”
Their daily tasks include helping clients in anything from completing applications to using the Internet.
“This is an informal environment that allows us to deal directly with the homeless,” Moon said. “It has been a really genuine experience.”
edited by Elissa Ewald
This lead is more straightforward than the original, but it doesn't have to be as straight as it is. Just because one soft lead doesn't work doesn't mean you have to switch to a straight lead -- it often just means you need to find one that does a better job getting to the heart of the story. That's a bit of a challenge here, because the story doesn't get very far beneath the surface of this shelter and the services it offers. The heart comes from interactions between shelter workers and clients, and we don't experience that here.
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