“Single mom escapes homelessness with help from CaringWorks,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution Inspire Atlanta

Amber Burns had spent much of her adult life on the run – living out of her car, sleeping on a friend’s couch, and fleeing from domestic abuse and the demons of addiction.

“Homelessness and addiction wear you down emotionally, mentally and physically,” shared Burns. But after a decade, she decided she had enough.

She enrolled in a drug treatment program and upon graduating connected with CaringWorks. Through CaringWorks, Burns received subsidized rent for an apartment, furniture and other services including counseling, job training and courses on finances and building credit. The 38-year-old single mother and her two young daughters are in a stable home now.

Burns has a CaringWorks counselor who helps her set reachable goals. She works part-time as a personal assistant and takes classes at Georgia State University. Her interests are in the earth sciences and she dreams of being a naturalist and teaching in a state or national park.

“Believing you deserve another chance in life is half the battle,” Collard said. “It may not be the second chance, it may be the fifth chance, but whatever you need individually to get where you want to go is what we want to provide.”