New homeowner Dorothy Jackson, right, with Matt Elder, Family Promise of Gwinnett Executive Director

In December 2013, Dorothy Jackson and her two children came to Family Promise of Gwinnett County (FPGC) in a time of need. They had been staying with friends and sleeping on couches or whatever was available for over three weeks prior to coming to FPGC.

Ms. Jackson was screened and determined eligible for FPGC’s Homeless Recovery Program. Our Homeless Recovery Program is a 30 to 90 day program that provides families with shelter, transportation, and all other basics needs through partnerships with local congregations.

In 60 days, Ms. Jackson graduated from the Homeless Recovery Program and moved into a Lawrenceville Housing Corporation (LHC) Pathway Housing Program. LHC and Family Promise entered into a Memorandum of Understanding in 2014 to transition FPGC clients from its program into LHC’s Pathway Home Program. This agreement is a way to ensure that our guests’ lives remain stable and they do not return to homelessness.

The LHC Pathway Home Program is designed to provide recent graduates of homelessness programs with a transitional residence. In addition to affordable and safe housing, graduates receive other services through many LHC partners.

For example, in LHC’s program Ms. Jackson received financial literacy training, financial counseling, and child care services. A scholarship through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act enabled her to finish school. With her new degree, she was able to stop living paycheck to paycheck and begin a career.

On February 28, 2017, Ms. Jackson finalized the purchase of her first home through LHC’s Welcome Home Program. In just over three years, she went from homelessness to homeownership due to her hard work, perseverance, and an unwillingness to give up.

Ms. Jackson’s successes are an illustration of what happens when the non-profit, public and private sectors all come together and work collaboratively towards a common goal and solution. This is the embodiment of Family Promise’s community-based holistic approach to breaking the cycles of poverty and homelessness.

We were beyond delighted to celebrate the success of Ms. Jackson today along with all of the other partners who made this possible.