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Our Programs
Looking for shelter? Bigger Vision of Athens is a co-ed facility. All guests must be at least 18 years old and be physically, mentally, and emotionally capable of coping in a communal environment without the assistance of staff or volunteers.
Emergency Shelter Program
The Emergency Shelter Program provides guests with dinner, showers, laundry, a comfortable bed to sleep in, and breakfast in the morning. Guests must call in each day at 4 PM to reserve a bed. Calls are answered in the order in which they are received. Check-in is from 6:00 pm to 6:10 pm for dinner and again from 7:15 pm to 8:00 pm.
Anyone wanting dinner must be in by 6:10 pm. All guests must be in the building by 8:00 pm, unless they have a pre-approved reason for being late. Otherwise, those arriving late will forfeit their bed and be assessed a penalty. All open spaces are given to the first available person once another guest cancels or doesn’t show up.
Community Impact Program
The Community Impact Program is made up of 2 phases and is designed to help those experiencing homelessness who are on a path toward sustainable housing. Participants receive all the amenities of our Emergency Shelter Program, without the need to call-in. The goal is that by the end of the program the participant is housed in a place they can sustainably afford with a 3-month emergency fund that shields them from returning to the Emergency Shelter program except as a volunteer or a donor.
Phase 1
Phase 1 is broken into 2 main tracks. Our employed track takes those currently employed in a job that pays a sustainable wage, teaches them budgeting skills, helps them save funds for their security deposit, first month’s rent and other expenses needed to obtain their own place, and even provides Credit Rehab when needed.
Our Education Track assists those seeking GED education and/or certified job skills training through one of our partners before transitioning them into the Employed Track. Participants obtain housing using exclusively their own funds. Bigger Vision of Athens does not provide any form of rent or security deposit assistance, therefore the success and achievement of completing the program and exiting homelessness is all theirs. We have found that the taste of victory creates a hunger for more success.
Phase 2
Phase 2 starts upon a participant obtaining housing. In this phase participants do monthly check-ins for the next 12 months to continue the process of budgeting and saving to fund a 3-month emergency fund. Upon completion, they have their own place they can sustainably afford, a financial hedge for emergencies, and the skills to continue their success.
