Update!

So school has been crazy....but here's an update over the last few weeks in Atlanta...

Ronald: He made it to Arizona! He emailed us when he got there and found a library...said he likes the shelter system...haven't heard anything since then...

Sarah: We took her out to eat..went to an Indian restaurant called Havali....that was a first for me...I absolutely loved it! Sarah was great at helping us out with what to order (actually she ordered for us!)...so good! Business is really slow at Underground so she's having to leave early because there just aren't people spending money...she is still such an encouragement in her faith!

George's Ministry: It was rocky there for awhile...but this past week they actually had more than enough food! Praise the Lord! Everyone got fed and then some! I've never seen so much food there before...Jerry even started to try to give us plates of food! (Jerry is my new friend there...we talk politics! He's really smart...he's also a vet and really nice!)

Christian and his mom: We've seen them at a glance for the past couple of weeks...it's either been raining or foggy and cold so they usually hurry to wherever it is they spend the night. We've actually seen quite a few new young faces recently...some even younger than Christian

It's starting to get cold...really cold...tonight's trip is going to be the coldest weather we've seen so far...in the 20s. woohoo. not really. but hopefully we'll be able to pass out some blankets and coats we got from our clothing drive we had. We were definitely blessed by the amount of 'gently used' articles of warm clothing, new socks, and new blankets...we also got some handmade wool hats and scarves! so cool! hopefully it will be a big blessing to the people of atlanta experiencing homelessness this winter...

In observance of the National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week (Nov 16-23): some random stats and facts

According to the National Coalition for the Homeless...

Atlanta is the 4th "meanest" city to those experiencing homeless by criminalizing homelessness and enforcing anit-homeless laws.

40% of the male homeless population are veterans

23% of the homeless population are families with children

42% of needy families in the metro-Atlanta area make the choice between food and housing

1/2 of all women and children experiencing homelessness are fleeing domestic violence

3.5 million people are likely to experience homelessness in a given year