Gateway Center

http://www.gatewayctr.org

275 Pryor Street SW
Atlanta, GA 30303-3638

Vision
The 24/7 Gateway Center is committed to bringing together the entire community to end homelessness. We strive to provide a supportive and compassionate setting where individuals can end their homelessness and maximize their self-sufficiency.

Mission
To end homelessness through a collaborative effort, providing basic therapeutic services that stabilize individual conditions and promote self-sufficiency.

Core Values
We value:
• The worth and dignity of every person in our community
• Providers, partners, volunteers, donors, and staff
• Hospitality
• Self-determination
• Respect
• Integrity
* Spirituality
• Accountability and transparency
• Efficient use of resources
• Approaching solutions with an objective and open point of view
• Achieving measurable, lasting impact

Essential Elements of Effective Collaboration
• Respect
• Partnership
• Cohesiveness
• Communication
• Planning
• Flexibility
• Compromise
• Shared Leadership
• Selflessness
• Inclusion
• Diversity

Drop-in services are available on the first floor of the Gateway Center and are encouraged for all individuals in need. The first floor is seen as a low-impact, safe, and trusting place for engagement. In many ways this point of entry will be a “triage center”for homelessness. The first floor of the building will include toilets, showers, a laundry, food and water, a place to come in from the elements and rest, limited temporary storage for personal belongings, telephones, general information and referral resources.

What services are available on the other floors of the Center?

Specialized services include:
•chapel
•outreach, intake, and assessment
•assistance in accessing mainstream benefits
•a separate, safe, and secure area for women and children
•referrals for internal and external homeless services, including housing and jobs
•counseling to promote reunification with family/friends and support community
•a full-service production kitchen with galleys on each residential floor with capacity to serve all residents in the building and produce meals for outside agencies

The second and third floors have:
•45 transition beds for men, designed to reach out to the chronic homeless, especially those with dual diagnosis, special needs, and frequent incarceration
•23 beds reserved for respite care
•a medical clinic for primary care
•22 assigned emergency beds (7 to 14 days) with a stated goal of the Housing First model
•22 beds of housing for men in job training programs, including a food service training program run in connection with the kitchen; participants in other employment or training programs may also be housed here
23 beds reserved for Re-Entry referrals for short-term stays for homeless men discharged for misdemeanors
45 beds for men with full-time employment in transition to permanent housing

The fourth floor have:
•46 beds of transitional housing for homeless veterans (in collaboration with Atlanta VA)
•45 pretreatment beds for men awaiting entry into substance abuse treatment programs, with access to support services such as AA meetings and drug/alcohol education classes
•a gymnasium which can be utilized for additional beds during a weather emergency

Why are 270 beds provided for men and only 30 beds provided for women and children?

Prior to obtaining the Gateway Center facility, the earliest design concepts provided for only a drop-in center for both men and women. Housing for men, women, and families was expected to be in separate and secure facilities away from the drop-in center. However, the Gateway Center site design was altered by the need to adapt renovations to the current building layout. The renovation costs of separate men’s and women’s facilities on the upper floors of the building were prohibitive in the development process.

The 30 beds reserved for women and children in the separate and secure Women and Children’s Center are neither transitional beds nor residential program beds. These beds are accessible to women and children for the duration of the time necessary to refer them to the appropriate partner agencies. This period will be brief but can possibly last more than 24 hours in certain situations. The Gateway Center works to ensure that women and children are secure in its facilities throughout that time period.