Welcome to Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens

The Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens, Inc.  is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to provide immediate shelter and guidance to homeless families with children, due to the impact of misfortunes upon their lives. Once accepted into our program, IHNA provides food, shelter, daycare, and transportation as needed. IHNA helps to create structure out of chaos by implementing a goal-oriented plan so that those desperately in need can focus beyond daily survival, to a life of stability. IHNA is part of the national Family Promise network that includes more than 200 IHNs in 43 states, and has served over a half million guests since its inception in the 1980's.  

IHNA is on the move...literally!

IHNA has moved its operation across the street to First Baptist Church . Click HERE to read more about it. 

We are excited about this move that will bring reduced costs and increased hospitality to our guests. Here is our new addresses:

Mailing Address                                     Day Center and Office Location
Post Office Box 581                               First Baptist Church
Athens, GA 30603                                 355 Pulaski Street
                                                              Athens, GA 30601

IHN Athens featured on WUGA's Athens News Matters

Alexia Ridley, host of WUGA's Athens News Matters, interviewed Claas Ehlers, CEO of Family Promise, and Davin Welter, IHNA Executive Director, about the mission of Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens. Take a listen by clicking the link below.

Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness partnership

​IHNA has be chosen by the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness to participate in a community assessment of Athens. (ICPH) is a New York City-based policy research organization focused on family homelessness. We are planning on using the information that is gathered to have more of an impact on the issue of homelessness in Athens.
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For more info, check out this video: (https://youtu.be/nAzvyWdOCdA)

Read IHNA's 2017 Annual Report to find out about our recent successes!

Watch our video!

Thanks to Carrie Campbell and Patricia Lee, who are UGA Masters in Public Administration students in Dr. Becky Nesbit's class, IHNA has a new video to recruit new volunteers, congregations, and funders and to inspire current loyal volunteers and funders.

Take a look by clicking this link:​​youtu.be/yYpwaJOwTL8

You will be moved by the stories told by past guests, current volunteers, board members, and staff.

What is in a name?

Your generosity helps us live up to our name:
 
Interfaith - Diverse congregations of different faiths coming together to serve children and families in need, while building bridges and relationships with one another. Our network represents Muslim, Jewish, Unitarian, Catholic, Mainline Protestant denominations and others including the Quakers, Christian Science and Mormon congregations.
 
Hospitality - Serving those in need with compassion, respect, and love while offering safe shelter, nutritious food, transportation and wrap around services. Caring for folks who the world passes by and judges harshly.
 
Network - Bringing together 36 congregations (14 host and 22 support) to share the work of housing and feeding those who are experiencing homelessness. In 2017, we have grown from 24 congregations to 36. Our network is strong and it continues to grow.
 
of Athens - All of us likely know that Athens Clarke County is one of the poorest in the country (over 700 children in the Clarke County schools were identified as homeless last year). We serve families from all over Northeast Georgia and have host and support congregations in Clarke, Oconee, and Barrow counties.
 
To make a gift, simply write a check and mail it to IHNA, 393-1 W. Hancock Ave., Athens, GA 30601 or click this secure link: www.ihnathens.org/donate-now.html

Former board member Holley Schramski featured for IHNA in UGA Columns

We are grateful to Holley Schramski for her service to IHNA as a board member and as a loyal volunteer. Holley was recently featured in UGA Columns in an article that featured IHNA and was encouraging UGA employee to participate in the Campaign for Charities. Read the article here:columns.uga.edu/news/article/interfaith-hospitality-network-of-athens-fights-homelessness/

UGA plays an integral role in our operations - from the Social Work interns that work with us each semester, to class projects (like the video mentioned above), to the Public Service and Outreach Day of Service that painted our office, and to the many UGA employee that are volunteers and donors with our organization. 

Thank you UGA and all those who are associated with it!

Special thanks to The Georgia Club Foundation!

IHNA is most grateful to The Georgia Club Foundation for their support of our mission. They presented IHNA with a grant of $2,401 which we will use to purchase bus passes for our guests and for other homeless individuals. 

Transportation is often a barrier to finding work and a sustainable life. We provide bus passes on a monthly basis to our families and other homeless individuals so that they can travel to and from work and/or job interviews as well as weekly errands.

La Table 2017 featuring Karen Olsen, founder of IHN national

Thanks to Athens First United Methodist Church for being the title sponsors for La Table 2017 which was held on Feb. 28 at the Athens Country Club. Karen Olsen, the founder of Interfaith Hospitality Network (now know as Family Promise), was our keynote speaker. We are grateful to Wanda Culpepper and our table host for their creativity and dedication.

Volunteer with IHNA







At the top of the page, click on "Join the Team" to see our volunteer and internship opportunities!

IHNA mentioned in Betsy Butler's sermon at Athens First United Methodist.

Take a listen to Betsy Butler's sermon from ​July 24, 2016 at Athens First United Methodist Church. Betsy is the Minister of Missions at AFUMC and in her sermon, she mentions the opportunity to stay close to God by hosting and serving the guests in the Interfaith Hospitality Network. She talks about how the volunteers from the church family offer hope to a hopeless situation. We are grateful for Betsy and to those at Athens FUMC who give help to those families in our community who are in need.

Thanks to Jackson EMC Foundation for their support of IHN Athens

The Jackson EMC Foundation, funded by the contributions of the cooperative's members, has awarded a $10,000 grant to IHNA to help us provide compassionate care to our guest families. We will use the grant to fund summer childcare, transportation and other guest needs. We are most grateful for this generous support!
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Davin Welter, Executive Director; Jean Mullis, JEMC Neese District Manager; Regina Roth-Goldman, Service Director; Elizabeth Morris, Office Assistant; Wanda Culpepper, Board Member; Ken Sherman, Executive Director Emeritus; Capt. Mark Sizemore, JEMC Foundation Board Member; Dick Perpall, JEMC Foundation Board Member

What IHN Athens Does

IHN Athens is a coalition of Athens Area Churches and Congregations of Faith, referred to as Host Congregations or Support Congregations, that may provide shelter, meals, and support for homeless families in crisis for up to 90 days.  Host Congregations, on a rotating basis, provide 3 meals a day to Network Families.  Each network family is provided with their own room within the Host facility.  Our network of churches provides shelter, meals, and compassionate assistance for up to three families (or maximum of 14 people) in crisis situations. As a group, the families rotate from church to church on a weekly basis. By uniting congregations through our Day Center, and through the support of social service agencies, our program assists these families with finding sustainable housing, job training, employment, and with meeting other various needs.