We spoke at Temple Sinai in Atlanta this month and they specifically requested a veteran speaker. This was no problem for the Speakers’ Bureau—we have plenty of members who have served. They asked for his name in advance, so that they could have a name tag made for him. So, we told them well in advance that the speaker’s name was Carlito Muhammed. I don’t think it occurred to any of us beforehand the irony of having a Muslim Veteran speaker addressing a Jewish audience. If there was any tension, it didn’t last long. Carlito had the rapt attention of 200 men, women and children, as he told his compelling story which included material success and a stable, loving family, 26 years of addiction and his recovery. Thirty days after becoming clean and entering into a Gateway Center program, his beloved 17-year-old daughter and protégé in the music business was hit in a head-on collision with a semi on I-285. Many people in the audience remembered that wreck. His daughter was flown to New York, but she told him to stay in Atlanta, because he was where he needed to be. One week later she passed away, but Carlito did not let the tragedy block his road to recovery. He was only 30 days clean when the wreck occurred, but that was seven years ago, and the audience bust into applause when Carlito told them he had been clean for all seven years. There were as many coincidences in the audience as there were wet eyes. Our host, the founder of Second Helpings, was born and raised in Flushing, New York. So was Carlito. Not only did many of the audience members remember that horrible wreck on 1-285, one couple had a 17-year-old daughter who was killed in a head-on collision as well. They told Carlito that they, too, struggled to find meaning and the will to carry on after such a devastating event. There were plenty of hugs, tears and smiles after Carlito spoke. The hosts loaded our cars up with donations and we all felt empowered at the end of a long night and a long week. I think this illustrates one of the powerful secrets of the Speakers Bureau. People who appear different on the surface – Muslim or Jew, homeless or housed – are really very similar where it matters – parents love their children and we all make mistakes, and some of us eventually succeed in overcoming our mistakes, usually through the intercession and the encouragement of others.

To learn more about the Speaker’s Bureau at the Gateway Center, visit this website.

Homeless Youth Documentary

Click the link above to see a clip played last week on CNN about a new documentary hosted by Anne Mahlum of Back on My Feet!

Adrienne Johnson, one of the members of the Speakers’ Bureau at Gateway, was honored last week with the Volunteer of the Year award at the annual Georgia Alliance to End Homelessness conference in Marietta, GA.  After experiencing homelessness for nearly five years, Adrienne is stably housed and volunteers weekly at numerous homeless service agencies.  She offers her story freely through the Speakers’ Bureau, and we are so proud of her and all of her accomplishments!

Special thanks to the Highland Cigar Company staff for a delicious chili lunch at the gateway Center today!

President’s Day may be a day off from work for many, but for the more than 200 employees of Georgia United Credit Union, it’s become a day to give back and this year more so than ever before.

Since 2010, thousands of hungry and homeless Georgia residents have been aided through the volunteer efforts of credit union employees and members as a part of Georgia United’s annual TEAM Day of training and motivation. That first year, credit union employees created and donated 2,000 meal or personal care kits. This year Georgia United employees will double the effort by assembling 2,000 meal kits and 2,000 personal care kits—a total of 4,000– to donate to The Gateway Center of Atlanta. The Gateway Center is Atlanta’s largest homeless services organization and has helped more than 34,000 homeless individuals over the last five years.

“We are a service organization,” said Georgia United President Warren Butler in discussing the original motivation. “It made perfect sense to use this opportunity to allow all our employees to take an active role serving others in our community.”

This year, with community need greater than ever before, Georgia United will also use the day to launch “Reaching out, Giving Back—Help Georgia United Can Hunger”– a canned food drive encouraging all Georgia United Branches to collect canned food for local food banks in their area. Our goal is to collect at least four tons of food (9,000+ cans) during the two month period following team day.

To read more about the Georgia United Credit Union’s Community involvement, follow this link.

The Gateway Center team would like to extend a big thank you to the Assistance League of Atlanta!  We had a wonderful time at the Assistance League meeting this morning and we appreciate all of the donations that the Assistance League brings each month to the Gateway Center!

To learn about Assistance League projects and donations, visit their website!

Back on My Feet had their Atlanta launch on 11/11/11 and the Gateway team was proud to run!  Below are some photos of the shoe fitting, the official launch, and some of our Gateway team members!

We would like to extend a heartfelt “thank you” to the Sheraton, the Hyatt, and the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center!  The Gateway Center received two large truckloads of linens, furniture, and art donations from the three hotels last week- and we have already put it to good use!  We have replaced all of the chairs in our chapel, used the art to warm up some client community areas in the building, and we even received some suit and uniform donations – our clothing closet has never been so full!

Thanks so everyone in the hotel community for making a difference in the lives of our clients!

A few years ago, after the sudden death of his father and brother, Sean faced a tragic foreclosure.  After filing bankruptcy in the wake of his family members’ deaths, Sean found himself with six days to move out of his father’s home and find affordable housing.  Sean worked diligently and found an apartment that his security guard salary could sustain, but broke his leg soon after, and was terminated from his job after three months of disability leave.

Once Sean’s unemployment benefits ran out, he found himself facing eviction and homelessness.  During the first few weeks of homelessness Sean would walk around grocery stores and other 24-hour businesses each night to avoid sleeping on the streets.  Eventually, Sean called United Way’s 211 hotline and was able to connect with various community services.  When the 211 operator found out that Sean had a degenerative eye disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa, she immediately connected him with the Center for the Visually Impaired.

As soon as he began classes at the Center, Sean was referred to Gateway’s Training Support Program, which houses men who are enrolled in school or skill-building courses.  After six months of living at Gateway and receiving intensive case management, Sean was prepared to move into his own apartment.  He now lives in permanent income based housing and volunteers with the United Way 211 hotline, answering calls from individuals in the same position he was in almost a year ago.

“Now I am able to help others- it wasn’t too long ago that I was on the other end of that 211 phone line”, Sean remarks. “Gateway gave me a platform to get my life constructed again.”

Georgia Tech’s Christian Campus Fellowship (CCF) recently came to Gateway for a day of games and fun with the children in our Women and Childrens’ Center (photos above).  Tonight, they will be focusing on the Gateway Center during their Global Prayer spotlight.  Thanks, GT CCF, for supporting the Gateway Center in so many different ways!