A Home for Everyone

Supporting people experiencing homelessness in DeKalb County by providing rapid rehousing, and partnering with community and government groups to provide emergency shelter and to advocate for more affordable housing.

Safe, affordable, and stable housing that is easily attainable for everyone in DeKalb County.

It began as an exploratory series of meetings convened by Rob Johnson and Shelly Fine, DeKalb professionals with long experience serving unhoused individuals. They saw an urgent need to engage the wider community to expand basic services to people experiencing homelessness. Rob and Shelly gathered a group of community leaders to assess the current status of homeless services, identify noticeable gaps, and make plans.

After nine months of study and consultation, the group expanded and re-branded itself as A Home For Everyone In DeKalb: A Collaborative Initiative on Homelessness with the goal of educating, engaging, and empowering a wider group of organizations and individuals to help people experiencing homelessness in our county. AHFEID' would focus on the key area of limited housing.

We launched a Winter Freeze/Cold Weather Shelter initiative. Beginning in January 2019, AHFEID opened two cold weather shelters, at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church and North Decatur Presbyterian Church. We developed a shelter manual, organized fundraising, supplied the shelters, recruited volunteers, and played the coordinating role that allowed the shelters to run efficiently.