Oletha Fraser moved to Georgia from Florida in 2017 with her husband and three sons when her father-in-law offered the family a home of their own.
Three years later, the 48-year-old found herself separated and living in her car, often sleeping in a QuikTrip parking lot. When she was able to pull together enough money, Fraser started living at extended stay motels.
Frontline Housing, a nonprofit in Clayton County, helped Fraser leave the motels for a two-bedroom apartment in Atlanta.
Mary Grace King, Frontline’s executive director, said the organization sometimes finds clients by visiting motels and leaving flyers on cars. School districts also make referrals, she said.
“So we really hit as many motels as we can, and we go all over Metro Atlanta,” King said.
To qualify for help, applicants must have steady income for rent, children, and 30 days of motel receipts. Once accepted and approved, clients receive $1,000 for move-in fees and $500 a month for four months.
“Each month, we work with them to open a savings account, and they have to put aside $250 of the $500 a month and they attend one financial wellbeing workshop,” King said.
The organization, which is funded by the United Way of Greater Atlanta, is working to find permanent housing for 365 families by the end of the year. They are a little more than half way to that goal, after providing service to 263 families — including Fraser — in 2022. The higher goal corresponds with an increase in funding from the United Way.
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Credit: Jenni Girtman
The problem is widespread. In January, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that there are at least 25,000 people living in extended-stay hotels across the metro area.
Between 2021 and 2022, there was a 13% increase in the number of homeless students in Georgia, according to data provided through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which requires school districts to track the number of homeless students in their system. Clayton, Cobb, Gwinnett counties and Atlanta Public Schools have all seen increases in their homeless student populations.
In Fraser’s case, the school district recommended a hotel to her so her son wouldn’t have to change schools.
“When I was trying to register the kids for the school, I really didn’t have an address to give,” Fraser said. “They told me which hotel to stay in, because I was living in a different one, to get the kids to stay in the same school zone.”
Today, Fraser has been in her apartment for about 10 months.
“There’s so much of a weight off me,” she said.
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