Blog Posts

by Izzy Clinger (Georgia State Intern)

When I came to Central Outreach and Advocacy Center as a social work intern, I don’t think I truly grasped the full meaning of what a community can mean to a person’s journey. The sheer reach of it–the impact that it creates for not only the whole, but the individual.

Yet as I stepped into the center for the first time, I think I instantly knew that I was walking into a family. Not just the staff, the incredible people who walk into work everyday not just out of necessity but out of a love for what they do, but the people who come into the center seeking services, clothes, or just a person willing to hear them out.

I have had several guests speak to me about their stories. The places they’ve been or
haven’t been, the people they’ve known, what they’ve seen, who they’ve lost. I’ve already been
told by guests numerous times that since their homelessness began they’ve never felt as if
anyone gave them help–until coming to us. One guest had even said they had seen three other
social workers and didn’t feel like they had any more support until they came here.

I think I started to know what community meant to this place after that. It was
everything–it was greeting everyone who walks into our doors with respect, dignity, and a
welcoming atmosphere. It was regular guests who came in just to use our facilities and say hello.
It was staff knowing guests by their name, and not as another number on the list of people who
need services. It was the advocacy meetings held by our staff that offered our guests a way to
voice what they never had the opportunity to.

Our community is our guests. We are the voices and the shoulders they can depend on.
But as always, a community goes both ways. Our guests do so much for us–they teach us,
educate us on what it is like to live their lives, and give us a reason to come to work every day.
Because for a community, I’ve found no greater place of belonging and welcomeness than the
OAC.

by MiKayla Wilson (Georgia State Intern)

When I began interning at Central Outreach in September, I didn’t fully understand how complex the burden of homelessness is or what it truly takes to alleviate it. I also hadn’t grasped how deeply entrenched the cycle of being unhoused can be, and how difficult it is to break.

Many of the guests I work with express that when they finally receive their birth certificate or Social Security card, they feel like they’re “someone again.” These essential documents don’t just confirm citizenship; they restore a sense of identity and dignity.

At Central Outreach and Advocacy Center, we help unhoused individuals obtain vital records like birth certificates and IDs. While this may seem like a small or routine task to many, it is actually a critical step toward stability. Without proper documentation, it becomes nearly impossible to access employment, housing, or basic services. Helping guests reclaim these documents is often one of the first and most important steps in overcoming homelessness.

This work directly reflects our Mission in Motion: we open doors to overcome and prevent homelessness. For many of our guests, obtaining these documents is that first door, one that leads to opportunity, independence, and a pathway out of homelessness.

by Austyn Long (Chaplain Intern)

I started working at the OAC as a chaplain intern in September of 2025, and when I think back
over past five months, I can’t think of a better description for this time than “Love in Action”.

Love means many things to many people, but in the OAC, love in action looks like hospitality, and preparing a place for every person to belong.

Hospitality has been woven in, since the first day of my internship. As I walked toward the gate, hoping I had found the right place, many of the guests were already lined up and waiting for the center to open. I asked someone if this was the Central Outreach and Advocacy Center, and shared that it was my first day working. Someone in line responded with a warm welcome, and showed me where the gate was, and told me where I could enter. Each day since, I’ve enjoyed the walk down Washington St., exchanging good mornings and conversation with the guests,
and seeing some more familiar faces as we start the day together.

Right after arriving, I was invited to join the morning circle. Here, staff and volunteers gathered
before beginning the day to share their joys and concerns and pray with and for one another
and the guests. As I heard the things that lifted and weighed on the hearts of the staff and
volunteers, and saw how deeply everyone held one another, again, I could see how much love
filled every corner of this place.

In the months since that first day, and the hundred-plus hours I’ve spent learning from the staff
and volunteers, speaking with and learning from guests, and even getting to see how
organizations throughout Atlanta are collaborating with one another, I’ve seen love in action in
a thousand different ways.

Sometimes, love looks like a conversation filled with so much laughter and connection that the
whole hallway overhears. Other times, it looks like sharing your burdens and finding comfort.
Sometimes, love in action looks like staff members collaborating to quiz a guest on the
citizenship test every time he visits, to help him study. Or, it looks like being recognized at the
door by someone who knows what you’re looking for. Often, love looks like being able to say
‘yes,’ to requests for warm hats, clean socks, shaving kits, or other much needed items, because
of the generosity of people I’ve never met.

A phrase I hear often at the OAC is, “I’m so glad you’re here.” Volunteers say this to guests, and
guests say it back. Staff and volunteers say it to each other on slow and busy days. To me, this is
what it really means to put love into action – to make the OAC a place where everyone belongs,
and where everyone is welcomed warmly, with love.

by Sarah Zimbardi

A new year brings the opportunity for a fresh start, and the OAC advocacy team is stepping into it with renewed energy and purpose. 2025 was a year of trying new approaches, learning new things, and most importantly, building new connections that will carry our work forward.

Throughout the year, we deepened our engagement with local government, meeting with ten different representatives from the City of Atlanta and Fulton County to push for improved access to public restrooms and summer cooling centers.

We also formed connections with new organizations and renewed relationships with longtime partners, strengthening the network that makes our advocacy possible.

We circulated the OAC’s first petition, asking Mayor Dickens to improve access to public restrooms downtown.  We invited partner organizations to share the petition as well. Together, we collected 923 signatures from downtown Atlanta residents, visitors, churchgoers, and commuters.

We navigated the process of getting an in-person meeting with representatives from the Mayor’s Office – a meeting that was rescheduled 3 times over the span of two months before we were able to sit down in the Mayor’s cabinet room to discuss public restrooms.  Once again, we leaned on our partnerships, bringing representatives from five other organizations to the table and the support of many others who could not attend. 

We also started a quarterly guest advocacy meeting.  These gatherings have allowed us to share information about downtown changes affecting the unhoused community ahead of the World Cup, hear directly from guests about the barriers they face, and gather input on where new public restrooms should be located. Most importantly, these meetings have given us time to sit together, share a meal, and listen without an agenda beyond connection.

Throughout all of these efforts, we’ve been reminded of the importance of patience, persistence, and connecting with others. Trying to advocate in a silo is like yelling into the wind. As we move forward into this new year, we will work to maintain strong partnerships and create new ones, so that together we can advocate for the City and County to make positive changes for us all.