• About Us
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About Us

Our Vision

Our vision is to be a national model of an educational and holistic approach to breaking the cycles of homelessness, poverty and domestic violence.

Our Mission

The mission is to transform lives for homeless families with children of North Metro Atlanta through a community based transitional housing program that promotes self-sufficiency.

Our Values

  • Love for God and our neighbor
  • Respect for the dignity of others
  • A supportive Community
  • Compassion and humility
  • To be good stewards

The Need

All humans need the same things: a place to sleep, enough to eat, and the nourishment of human support and affection in systems of permanence that do not threaten abandonment at every turn—an ongoing sense of home and family.

  • Georgia currently has over 500,000 children living in poverty stricken families, with over 60,000 Georgia    children experiencing homelessness each year. The average age of a homeless person is 9 years old.
  • 87% of homeless families cited lack of affordable housing as the primary cause of their homelessness.
  • Domestic Violence is the second most frequently stated cause of homelessness for families. One-half of homeless women and children have fled domestic violence.
  • In Georgia, one wage earner earning the state’s minimum wage would have to work 85 hours a week (for 52 weeks per year) to afford a two bedroom apartment at the fair market rent. All it takes is one seemingly minor event to push a family into homelessness.
  • The current high school graduation rate for homeless children in the state of Georgia is less than 25%.

The Solution

  • Rainbow Village provides housing for up to two years, allowing children to attend the same school for at least one to two years.
  • The cost to live in the community provided by Rainbow Village averages $250 – $300 per month. This formula is based on 20% of the resident’s income less an adjustment for childcare. This reasonable amount allows good habits to be instilled and a path for success to be charted once a resident has graduated from Rainbow Village.
  • Rainbow Village provides a safe and secure environment where families can receive necessary counseling and support for domestic violence.
  • Rainbow Village offers courses in interviewing skills, dressing for success, resume building, public speaking and job searches. Because all Rainbow Village residents are required to hold down a job for at least 30 hours per week, a barrier to a normal life is removed. These jobs typically pay $10.00 – $14.00 an hour

Our Effectiveness

Rainbow Village is accredited by the Georgia Alliance to End Homelessness as a “best practice” organization. In 2008 we received the Bridge Builder Award from the Alliance recognizing us a model organization in collaboration and effectiveness. Rainbow Village CEO, Nancy Yancey was awarded the 2011 Essential Piece Award from the Alliance for her leadership, vision, and impact on ending homeless in Georgia.

We are a licensed member of the Licensed Independent Charities of America (LICA), a workplace giving program, and a sanctioned charity listed in Guidestar, a national organization providing information to the public with respect to the integrity and practices of non-profits nationwide.

As careful stewards of the funds entrusted to our care by investors, Rainbow Village’s administrative costs for 2009 were only 28% of the operations budget. (Charity Navigator states that most non-profits have administrative costs of 25-32%.) For every $1 invested at Rainbow Village in 2009 $.77 directly supported families and children in our community.