BUFORD — The Gwinnett's Children Center has broken ties with the state of Georgia, and representatives officially unveiled the new "Home of Hope at Gwinnett Children's Shelter" Monday afternoon in Buford.
The program aims to provide education and job training to young mothers of homeless children as well as young women aging out of foster care.
"It's a tough love design. You're here one week, and you earn your next week. But it's a nurturing environment," said Maureen Kornowa, executive director.
"Since we've started, 52 percent (of the residents) have transitioned into stable housing. 36 percent are still in the program and the other 14 percent transitioned out for whatever reason, like non-compliance."
The 20,000-sqaure foot facility was repurposed from a lockdown facility that housed juveniles from the Department of Family and Children Services and the Department of Juvenile Justice into a more open facility designed to get the residents on a path to independence.
"How do you really change someone's life? It's not putting them in a hotel for a year. It's finding out what caused (them) to be homeless. How'd you get there? Where do you want to be? And how to we come alongside and get you there?" said Kornowa.
Her staff answers those questions with customized "life plans," which are designed to get young mothers on track, while still nurturing to her child's needs, said Kornowa.
She recalled her favorite success story, a young woman Kornowa identified as Michelle.
"When (Michelle) came in, she was staying in an extended stay hotel—she and her teenage sister on one bed, and her mom and her step-dad in the other bed. (Michelle) was the only one with a job, 21 years old. She came out of the hospital with her newborn son to that hotel room," said Kornowa.
She had been getting housing help from Norcross Cooperative Ministry, who then referred her to Home of Hope in August 2014.
"I will tell you, and she will tell you: for the first three months we butted heads. She didn't want to save 50 percent of her paycheck. She didn't want to attend every class we had her attend. But by Christmas she had the sense of pride of knowing that she had saved almost $1,000. She was working at Wells Fargo, who loved her part-time and took her on full-time," said Kornowa.
By spring the following year, Michelle had saved nearly $6,000 while working full-time.
"She just had an epiphany that this was God's blessing for her, that she was going to have a home for herself and her son, and never know the extended stay hotel life again" said Kornowa.
Michelle still comes by the Home of Hope to visit everybody, and shares her story at speaking engagements with Kornowa, who hopes the new facility will bring similar success stories to other residents.
Click the photo gallery to see more pictures of the Home of Hope.
